30AD
by DigiConjurer
Summary: The end of a saga started five years ago. Been a wild ride. Thanks for that.


I don't own digimon.

* * *

?30AD

We begin our story in a graveyard.

Well, it really wasn't a graveyard. To put this into perspective, the supposed resting place was more of a small hill in a park than a place to bury the dead. Except no one had gotten the message a couple days prior. Like seriously people, none of you could get any of your outfits in black? For some of you, I can understand why. But at least a third of you should at least be able to get compatible outfits.

"Says the woman who works part-time as a furry." someone shouted, forcing Sachiko to restrain her quite loving wife for a moment. Even if there was some truth to that statement.

Yes, but that's the whole point of the plush cafe. It's a major part of the theming that Ai and Cho decided upon.

Uh… Sorry about that, viewer. I really like my job and stuff. To truly begin this story, we need to go back quite a bit actually. Which feels kind of odd now that I think about it. We're usually heading forward into the future. Hopefully no one does something stupid that forces us to reset time for whatever

We come upon a park in a time of relative peace (by our standards at least). Memories of MaloMyotismon still faintly hang in the air of the 'digidestined' from all across the world, his defeat signalling the start of a new era for both the human and digital worlds respectively. But in this park, the first real big threat in some time had made itself known. Back then, did the people responding to this really understand the repercussions of their actions? It's highly unlikely. They probably act more rational than with their emotions. Or perhaps it would do the opposite, using their emotional ammo on nearly every encounter. Perhaps a mix of both. Not that we're really searching for the answer to that question. No, what we're here for is more of a celebration. A victory lap for our triumphs and defeats.

"Where did she go now?" TK Takaishi or as we know them now, 'Evil' TK announced, taking the time to smooth out their top. It had been some time since they had to wear this getup. It wasn't bad per say (it was at least in their normal color scheme), but by no means something that would ever return to their rotation of outfits. For one, it didn't quite fit with anything other garments they had. Secondly, it reminded them a bit too much of the past. No much use in hanging onto

A groan followed, right as fellow 'digidestined' Kari Kamiya and Davis Motomiya ran up. "Would you mind if I just shed this outfit for my traveling one?"

Davis let out a sigh. His focus shifted to TK, giving the gentlemanly asshole a nod.

A mutter of something followed from TK, with 'his' significant other's clothes shattering into a pile of cloth scraps. Which did leave them naked for a few brief moments as both their body and clothes shifted in shape and style. A yellow gown 'poofed' into existence on their now feminine body, with a set of matching heels raising them up at least an inch. Short cyan gloves covered just their hands. Though, all four rings (emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond) were accounted for. Can't forget about that. A light coat of makeup highlighted a set of blue eyes, while their now long hair getting braided. While a far cry from their usual hair style, it was a temporary change. That would best describe Talia's outfit for the moment. At least till she got back to her usual one.

"Can I change as well?" Davis remarked and watched Talia shake their head. "I doubt I or Kari like our look either."

Kari rolled her eyes. Compared to her two companions, she was the most far-removed from her actual form. Sure, not having fur was kind of bizarro for the digidestined. Even more so after having spent so long just adjusting to not just being a catgirl, but also a queen of a european-style nation. Which is quite an accomplishment for someone who's dream in life was to be a teacher of all things.

"Personally, I'm fine with waiting ." the chosen of light remarked and sniffed the air. In the cold tundra that was this park during this time of year, there was little to actually smell out here. But amid all of that, she could just make something out. "There you are, nya!"

Before they can hunt down this supposed their supposed opponent, they needed to find their 'digimon'. Well, partners would probably be a far better way to describe them at the moment. Because none of them looked like the actual digimon or whatever the fuck we're supposed to call them now. Are there even digimon in Neo Digia now? Not counting a certain someone, everyone got changed into a respective species/creatures. Well, that was what my cre- I mean boss told me.

Oh right. It would probably help if I described them for you (kind of a long day for your's truly).

First up, we have a large snow leopard nekomata. She's quite a bit larger than our familiar white cat. No tail ring either? Boo. Not that busty, but looks to keep herself quite active. A perfect bodyguard for the former priestess.

"Uh… Miss Kuro, what exactly is she referring to?" the nekomata remarked and watched her mistress take a deep breath. "While I doubt there is no connection between us, such a device that could augment my abilities would be absolutely helpful in a pinch.

Kari rolled her eyes. A part of her hadn't wanted to do this 'reunion'. There was already enough work to go around in Branaka in the first place. Especially with all the time jumps and the like. There were places that needed to be rebuilt, people to be trained and dressed. Above all else, making sure that things didn't go to shit was at the top. Well, at least to a lesser degree after the changes to everyone wardrobes. Wait. You actually managed to get everyone to agree to that. I thought something like that was a generalization they taught in school.

"While there are some outliers (actors and stuff), a majority of the branakan people dress in ballroom gowns." Talia explained and curtsied. Not that I can really think of a real reason for needing to do such a motion right now. "Technically, I'm introducing this form."

That kind of makes sense. Sorry about the tangent there, Kari. Please continue with your train of thought.

The chosen of light took a deep breath.

"It's complicated, Snowy." Kari explained and followed that up with a small sigh. If her memory served her correctly, her digivice should be in her left pocket. A quick dig through her pockets later, she pulled out… a little squeaky ball and her pink D3. She gave it a slight shake and Snowy tried her best to resist the urge. Sadly, the ball had to go away for the moment.

"Boo." Snowy muttered.

As for our next partner, we have to look to the nekomata's back. There, we find a little girl hanging. As for her attire, one of her parents went through the trouble of dressing them like they were actually from this part of town. Which basically meant a blue t-shirt decorated with lettering - Lady Holm. Some kind of show on Branakan TV? Just below the lettering, was what looked to be a two of the characters of this TV show were holding hands and embracing. The one on the left looks to be a male tiefling dressed in a vibrant cobalt ballroom gown. Opposite of them is a female orc, who has gone for a topaz-colored. Complementing it, was a skirt that was much than one would normally. Messy locks of blondish black hair covers the head, while a set of bluish gray eyes looked everything over.

"Oh. Daddy is mommy now." the girl remarked and began petting Snowy. "Oh well. Can I have another piggyback ride?"

The nekomata looked away, trying her best to ignore the feeling of affection that currently coursed through her body. It probably felt wonderfully blissful. It's alright to give into that kind of temptation. The big bad hasn't shown up yet.

It took a minute or two, but Snowy did eventually collapse to the ground in pleasure. Not sexual, of course. That would be kind of awful. We don't need that at the moment. Though that does leave the question of where this kid came from, Talia.

The lady gunner takes a deep breath and got a look from their significant other. After, their focus turned to the sky.

"Well you see, she came as a package deal." they explained, watching Davis walk on over. "As it turned out, Ririsu had kids - Triplets to be exact."

Dang. That sounds like quite a challenge for you gals. Especially with all the lady knights stuff. You holding up in the face of it?

Davis just chuckled. Which in turn, got him a look from their significant other. I think they definitely deserved that one. In return, the gogglehead gave Talia a slight tap. Thankfully, it didn't escalate beyond that.

Which brings us to our third and final partner - some sort of weird blue bird. And by bird, I mean some sort of vulture crossed with a dragon of some kind. Because that makes perfect sense.

"Hey. I personally would've preferred not to be fused into one being." the bird remarked and got a pat from its master. A low squawk followed.

With introductions now taken care of, our trio made one quick gaze around and charged forward. While the path taken was the same as that taken well over a decade, everything else wasn't. A light dusting of snow covered nearly every surface in this park at the moment. Which made it all the more silly to see Talia dressed the way she was at the moment.

"Fine…" the lady gunner muttered and was handed a yellow coat by Davis. It was even fur-tipped for good measure. So she slipped it on and looked out in the distance. "Here kitty kitty…"

Right on cue, a figure walked out from behind a snow mound. They let out a chuckle and smooth their lolita dress out.

"You ruined the surprise." the figure remarked as they pull their butterfly swords out right after. A deep breath follows, with them taking the time to launch a fireball out. They don't really hit anyone. "Just call me by my usual name. Please?"

Okay, Victoria. Is that better? You're kind of iconic, especially in the face of everything that has happened.

The figure smiled.

"Why thank you." the black cat remarked and took her opponents in. How long had it been since she got a proper fight? She and Kuro have probably been working hard ruling what was basically the fantasy version of the UK. Except everyone dressed like a lady from Victorian times. While there was always a chance for a quick spar with one of her lady knights, anything other than that had a tendency to detract from their image. Which was never good. "It's been a while, Talia."

The lady gunner cracked a smile. Of course, they make the necessary check. Somehow, Victoria already beat them to it. Though, I'm not entirely certain that's how anatomy works. Like none of that should.

Nonetheless. They lady gunner pulled out their revolvers and slowly walked towards Snowy.

"Thank you." Talia remarked and set their daughter down. Kneeling down, they hand over a costume. "Now Angie, just put this on when mommy tells you to. Okay?"

Angie nodded and gave the costume a glance. From up here, it appeared to be an angelic garb of sorts. Just modified to pass any potential copyright traps. While she was doing that, Kari approached her partner and pulled out a set of gray armor. Carefully handing the set over, her flat bow comes out right after. You even polished it. For someone so apprehensive about coming, you took some time

"Do I really need this, Miss Kuro?" Snowy remarked and caught a glance of Victoria. "On your signal then?"

Kari nodded, taking the time to notch an arrow back. Just in case.

As for Davis, he instructed his partner to strike a pose. Which is kind of a waste, but oh well.

"Just aim for the woman dressed like she's twelve." the gogglehead muttered and got a look from his boss/significant other. "What? It's kind of true for the moment."

A fireball slammed into Davis's head, which only seemed to manage to knock this idiot a couple feet back. He takes his dao broadswords out and dashed towards his opponent.

"Now!" both Kari and Talia announced and take a shot (two in the latter's case). While both projectiles reach their target, it was more of a distraction of what was coming than a way to actually damage their opponent. If they really wanted stopping power, just go with something ice-powered. Or just bring her ice cream. That's bound to work, right?

"Angie costume change too…" Angie shouted as she scrambled to get out of her current outfit and into the initial one she had just been provided. "Oh! What a pretty dragon!"

Uh… That's not how you're supposed to say it. Now what, Sachiko?

Offscreen, my wife pointed something out for me. Are you sure… Okay. I'll shift the camera over to make sure there's not someone there.

Someone let a large violet-colored dragon of all things into our flashback. On closer inspection, the scales look almost plush-like. Still probably tough as all hell. A long tail is currently being played with by a pair of girls. A third is just humming while playing with some kind of toy, with the oldest currently getting their curls done up once more. For this particular occasion, they've taken the time to put on their pink coat over what I can only assume to be some sort of dress. That hangs to her skin for some reason. Also, there's a shotgun hanging on her back for some reason.

Uh… We need you to both leave. Especially since we already have an exact copy of both of you for some

The dragon shifted their head slightly, looking up towards the sky.

"Oh sorry. We're just on a 'honeymoon'." the dragon remarked and carefully shifted her passengers up her back/head. Four, to be exact. "To answer your next obvious question, Princess is nine and no, we're not that sort of couple."

Nice to hear, maybe? Wait. They're are all children, right? How long of a waiting game do you have on your hands for just the one?

The dragon looked away. A deep breath followed, only for her to eventually focus on the sky. You don't have to answer us. I'lljust take random shots in the dark till I get it right. It'll take a while, but we will get there damn it.

"91 years." the dragon finally muttered. I was joking about the guessing part. We already have your character sheet and notes. They even include stuff planned for a future that might never come. "She's just had her birthday, so I have a whole lot of time to truly get to know her."

Almost on cue, the four children that were on the dragon's head tumble off and made a beeline for Angie. Well three of them at least.

"Beauty wants Macherie to join them." one of the girls announced, trying to get their sister to follow. Though, the girl on the ground is more interested in the purple robot in their hands than going to see this strange girl. Not that she would be able to hear in the first place. Maybe try speaking with you hand?

The girls ignore my comment and continue on. This is ground, not water. You can't really swim through it.

"Boo." the girl muttered, as her two companions reached Angie. One of which had somehow found a stick of dynamite. I have so many questions in regards to where the hell a five year old managed to get a hold of such explosives. Whatever you do, don't light th-

Going against all common sense and possibly goodwill she had gained from her mother, the girl lit and threw the explosive. This is exactly the reason why we can't have nice things, people! Well, one of many reasons at least in the face of everything. Which made it all the fair when Angie just ignored them. Not because they were bad. She just didn't want to be blown up today.

"Girls," the dragon called out, bringing the attention of her 'children' over to her. But not before the one holding the dynamite blew it out. Thank you. Don't do that again. "Of course.

Children back on her back, a smile formed on the dragon's face as what looks to be a portal appears for them. Have fun on your 'honeymoon'. Don't come back here. Maybe figure out a way that both versions of you can somehow live without breaking the timeline. Or something like that.

"We'll try." the girl remarked as the group stepped on through, allowing us to return to the scene at hand. Sorry about that. We're kind of in the middle of a 'where the fuck do we put these characters' moment. Boss thought he had a place for them, but that didn't work out. So now there's a bunch of characters in limbo who are inbound for Neo Digia.

"Understood." Talia remarked and made their way over to their daughter. A deep breath followed and brought Angie's attention over to them. While not entirely part of the lady gunner's plan, they could fix this in the moment. "Better now?"

Angie nodded.

"Angie costume change too…" Angie announced as she got the last piece of her costume into place. "Angie!"

For the moment, the child was dressed as a wannabe angemon. It sort of worked. You just had to look past the whole feminine angemon vibe. This took the form of a white leotard with matching boots and a set of feathery costume wings. Finishing off the look was a gray helmet covering most of Angie's face and a golden staff in her hands.

_Initiating Scan…_

_Analyzing…_

**Angie**

**Mixed Creature (Humanoid-Angel), CR 6**

**Special Abilities: Unknown**

**.**

**Angie: Yay!**

**Chaos: So this is the new analyzer screen. I guess it works.**

**Talia: Kind of odd not having the power levels.**

**Chaos: This is the end. Makes sense that we would be testing a new system.**

**Davis: Boo.**

_Scan Complete._

_Closing Analyzer…_

Yes, but we can't go forever. We all got our end. The time has more or less come to pass on the torch to the next generation. Or something like that.

"I guess." Davis muttered, following it up with a statement under his breath. Though, his attention turned to their daughter. At the moment, Angie was just pumped to have successfully costume changed. Whatever that even means in the context of the story? Not a lot. But to her, everything after this is just a victory lap of sorts. A weird way to see this moment, but I can't blame her feeling that way.

"Good job!" her 'mother' announced and gave their daughter a fist bump. "We can work on the execution some other day."

Angie nodded and made her way over to Snowy. But not without some help from Davis to get her going in the right direction. Don't want to accidentally bang into a tree. Or worse, walk off in the wrong direction and never come back.

Which brings us to our other partner - Snowy. Who at the moment, was doing stretches.

"Snowy costume change too…" the nekomata shouted as she tried to slip the various armor pieces onto her body. While a snug fit, it was pretty obvious that this wasn't her preferred outfit. "Stupid armor…"

She let out a huff and smashed what looked to be the chest piece into her body. Which brought the attention of Kari and Victoria over to her.

"Do you need some help, nya? Kari inquired and watched her partner look away. Yet, digidestined picked up what looked to be a helmet and handed it over. Snowy reluctantly accepted it. Only to then proceed to smash it on. Ouch. Are you sure she's alright? That sort of thing can leave quite a mark if you're not careful.

That remark got me a look from my 'sister' (Victoria, in this case). Well, that isn't true. After the whole Branakan mess, I become a child or something. Kind of a nightmare having to live through the mess that is public education.

But the black cat ignored me for the moment. Instead, her focus was solely on that of her wife. While I can only assume things have been going quite

"Sorry about this." Victoria whispered, letting a deep breath escape her lips. "If I had known she would be so 'difficult' I would-"

Before she can even finish her sentence, Kari walked over and planted a kiss on the lips. The black cat returned the favor, trying her best to hide her currently bright pink cheeks. Aww…

An embrace of sorts followered.

After, the couple broke away and reluctantly returned to their respective spots. Perfect timing too, since Snowy had finally gotten the last of the armor pieces on. While the presentation of what we can only assume to be an armoured being of some kind isn't quite there, there's room for improvement. Maybe something about more skimpy and alluring. Maybe a belly dancer? Or perhaps a harem girl? Yeah, that sounds better.

_Initiating Scan…_

_Analyzing…_

**Snowy**

**Beast, CR 7**

**Special Abilities: Unknown**

**.**

**Snowy: All that work and I'm only slightly better than that kid.**

**Victoria: Angie hasn't much combat experience. Cut her some slack.**

**Snowy: Fine. *grumbles***

**Victoria: I heard that.**

_Scan Complete._

_Closing Analyzer…_

"Are you happy now, Mrs Kuro?" Snowy muttered, finally catching sight of Angie. She does a double take. Not that one can really blame her for feeling that way. "What?"

Angie took a deep breath, letting a smile form. It was least pointed in the direction of her partner in crime at the moment. Points for trying.

"You look quite nice, Snowy." she whispered and carefully slid her hand across one of the few exposed areas on the nekomata's body. Snowy let out a soft purr, only to focus in on their opponent for the moment.

"Your turn, nya." Kari added as everyone's focus turned to Victoria now. The black cat gave a nod and let out a chuckle right after.

"Victoria costume change too…" she announced and threw what looked to be a dress of some kind into the air. Not going to lie, but that's not what I was expecting to happen. If anything, she's just showing off to the world. For some reason or another."I heard that." Victoria muttered as she squeezed into the dress. It looked more like an extension of her current outfit rather than a full-on different dress. Oh well. "Moon Lilith!"

_Initiating Scan…_

_Analyzing…_

**Moon Lilith**

**Hybrid (Too many things to count), CR ?**

**.**

**Victoria: It's not that many things.**

**Talia: Slime, some kid, digital cat creature, the queen of britain, a demon and something else that I'm probably forgetting.**

**Victoria: That's only a couple things.**

**Talia: Oh right. A golem of some kind.**

_Scan Complete._

_Closing Analyzer…_

Oh hey. You did that right. Good for you.

"You alright, Chaos?" Talia inquired, only to get a sigh from offscreen. Sorry about this Sachiko.

Sachiko just shakes her head and gives me a slight pat on the head. It feels quite good. I wouldn't mind another. Well, not right now at least. Maybe later.

Oh right. Your question.

Yeah. Outside of some idiot kid kicking me in the groin. Yes, I have to use both of my hands to communicate. That's no reason to be such a dick about having to use non-verbal communication over verbal. Period.

"Got it."

With that confirmation of sorts, Angie dashed forward as Snowy and that bird followed right behind.

**Light Hits!**

Angie pulled one of her of her hands back, slamming it with all her strength into the black cat's chest. Sure, said chest jiggled for a moment and I now have a good idea of her cup size (B's), that didn't really damage her all that well. Especially after the second attempt nearly resulted in Angie's fist slamming into her helmet. Which is a good way to break your hand.

So Angie switched tactics and changed to her staff. The swings that followed were easily avoided by her opponent and punished with quick strikes from their butterfly swords.

"Practice, dear." Victoria remarked and lightly kicked Angie away. After, her attention turned to Snowy and Davis respectively. "I'm not going to go easy on either of you."

Davis chuckled, getting a confused glance from Snowy.

"Bring it." the gogglehead muttered and went for an upward swing on the arm. While a lot more solid of a blow than Angie, all it really did was stagger his opponent. Even then, it wasn't that effective of a stagger either.

Snowy on the other hand, sped up for some reason. All while Talia and Kari shot out their respective projectiles.

**Neko Slide!**

Sliding under a mix of bullets and arrows, Snowy slammed one of her armored legs into Victoria's foot. It was successful hit. If she really wanted to push her luck, you could go for a combo of sorts.

Which was exactly what Snowy tried for. Pulling one of her fists back, she attempted the same sort of punches that Angie tried. I guess she didn't see the ineffectiveness of the blows? Maybe?

Whatever the case, a paw slammed into the black cat's body. While Victoria took it like a champ, it was more for show than actual damage.

"You also need some work as well." she remarked and let out a low chuckle.

**Dark Moon Blaze!**

The sky darkened above our snowy park as a circle of fire appeared at the black cat's feet, reaching both Davis and Snowy surprisingly quickly. Wait. Isn't it supposed to be a big fancy fireball? You're doing it wrong, maybe?

Victoria just rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle. I guess in her defense, she had more than enough to refine the move.

"Admit it. This is a whole lot cooler than that." she joked, unable to witness the eye roll from both my wife and I. I'm tempted to pull the 'supposed flashback' card, but then I would appear to be hypocritical. Especially in regards to the fact that a lot of this stuff no longer exists at the moment. Well, scratch that. More of, most of the stuff we would need for such an accurate portrayal have changed in one way or another. Now, we're making do with what we have. Or in other words, business as usual.

While I was babbling about the past, Victoria's attention had turned to Kari.

"Let's dance."

The digidestined of light rolled her eyes and set her bow down. She then picked some of the snow up, balling it up into a snowball. Memories of their first meeting began seeping in, of her challenging the words of the black cat and failing miserably. Of the supposed 'ancient' crest of darkness and her outburst. The meeting that followed was by no means that great either - especially when one considering how not romantic getting thrown onto train tracks is. Nor was finding out that she was a priestess of some strange deity. Who promptly kidnapped her. But then her fortunes began to reverse to an extent. The pair had begun to date, found that they had far more in common and tied the knot. Joys of a different kind were what followed, bringing the couple full circle.

"I'm surprised you didn't wear that necklace of yours, nya." Kari remarked and got an eye roll from her wife. While the thought of bringing the necklace had probably crossed her mind, it was now a mere trinket with sentimental value. That would probably wouldn't go too well with her current outfit at the moment.

"Yeah…" Victoria remarked and looked away, taking the time to get her next attack ready. Time that Kari probably didn't need, judging by the way she's currently packing that snow at the moment.

"Take this, nya!" Kari announced as she threw the makeshift sphere in Victoria's direction. Out of anything they had done so far, this had been most effective. Though, it's to be expected that the wife of the queen would know all of her weaknesses. What kind of damage multiplier is the question now. Yes, it's her elemental weakness, but since the entire ball is essentially cold water, shouldn't she just be able to absorb it? Just saying.

Kari returned to using her bow for the moment. Far less complicated, even if the damage was minimally better than the snowball. Unless…

**Priestess Arrow!**

Kari's bow glowed with gray light, condensing into a single point on the airhead. She fired it off and watched it reach her opponent. With the lack of a performance from Davis's bird, does this count?

"It counts." Victoria muttered as she shook out the extent of the blow. Still a better attempt than what happened the first time around.

This had the added effect of bringing forth a woman. A very tall woman to be exact. Dressed in a muted orange skirt suit decorated with blue patches, they seem intent on coming across as 'business-like' as possible. A set of pink and purple hair hangs under a court jester cap and complements a set of violet eyes. What looks to be a doll dressed in their old look hung to her side. A possible reminder of then?

"If it helps, all the other Jestery's still dress that way." the woman remarked as her attention turned to Victoria. She walked over, lifting her mother up into a massive hug. "It's been a while, momma kitty!"

Victoria looked towards her wife and got a shrug in return.

"Jestery, could you put me down?" she muttered and watched her daughter comply. "Thank you."

Jestery nodded and struck a pose. Overall, I give it a five out of ten. It works, but there's a lot more you can do in that regard.

"What does momma kitty think?" the jester remarked and watched her mother do a quick once over. A sigh followed. "Not quite sold on it?"

Victoria shook her head.

"Personally, I would prefer that you at least try a ballroom gown." she explained as Kari walked over. "What do you think, Kuro?"

The pair watched their new observer circle around, instead of I don't know, actually grabbing Davis and get this over with. Yes, making sure that an outfit works is an important part of the writing process, but that can be done in a bit. Right now, we need to head on.

"It looks alright." Kari answered and watched Davis make his inevitable approach. "You ready to go, nya?"

The gogglehead nodded, letting a now free Victoria take him in. Who's the master now, Talia?

That remark got us an eye roll. To be fair, I don't think the author had any clue what he was talking about during the start of this either.

"Off we go then." the black cat muttered as she focused in on her daughter. A portal appeared right after, with some of our heroes stepping on through.

.

_**First Intermission Time!**_

(This is a good moment to get up, take a bathroom break. Get a snack. Stuff like that. There's five of them. Yes, I'm aware)

"I'm here!"

Freya stepped into the flower shop. Work had finished up at the Plush Cafe, her bosses more than happy with the mage's performance as 'Heart'. But they had a task that needed to be done. Normally, this was just a matter of just making sure she and her 'husband' were refreshed for the coming day. But this was a different matter. While Triglav was fine sharing with the narrating pair, it was always sort of awkward just stepping on in - announcement or not. Sure, she had dated Chaos when they were both teens. But she had gotten a bit too… uncontrolled. Almost self-destructive to an extent. At the end of the day things just weren't working out for the pair at the time. Now though, things were going a lot better. Except for having to

For this particular excursion, she had gone for no costume. Just her regular dress and a pair of flats. Her hair had been cut quite short, mostly so that any of the suits she had to wear didn't get snagged in the dress/undressing process.

The room that greeted her was bright and overall, cheerful. Well, as cheerful as a room can get when you sell flowers and don't want to come across as gimmicky. Quite a fine balance that's needed in that regard. Everything was set up how it normally was - chairs pushed in, flowers in pretty vases for people to pick up tomorrow and the watering can ready for use. In between the bunches of plants and flowers, the door to the back room awaited. So pushing her way through, the sorceress made quick time in that general direction. The room on the other side was actually decorated for once. Two desks lined the west wall, with laptops sharing the space with plushies of all things. Of note, was a little plush gorgon hanging at the edge. It was joined by a much larger gorgon plush. Not quite full-size, but big enough to be held by someone and be bridal carried. If you're into that sort of thing.

As for the occupants of the room, they had gone for their usual outfits. In this particular moment, that meant a white dress with red trim for Chaos and a green kimono with brown accents for Sachiko. Unarmed for once, they both look to be happy. Well, outside of the incident that had happened earlier.

'There you are.' Chaos signed as she watched her former partner enter the room. 'Sorry about having to drag you over here.'

Freya shook her head and wrapped her arms around Chaos. The white mage accepted the gesture. Of course, their guest made sure to hug Sachiko as well.

"Ai wanted me to check in." Freya continued and took a seat on the bed. "That guy is no longer allowed in there anyhow."

Chaos nodded. The miming of a deep breath followed, almost as if she wanted to go about something,

'Tempting, but no.' the white mage continued and let her focus turn to the laptop. A glance from Sachiko put an end to that.

"I'll take the next block." the geomancer remarked and held out a tea kettle. She sets it down, watching her wife and their guest focus on that over her. "You two can just relax. Something tells me you've both earned it."

Her audience gave a nod, with their next move taking the form of wiggling about the bed. So Sachiko sat herself down in the hot seat and got to work.

_**First Intermission End!**_

.

We return back to this 'real world', where a whole bunch of people have already gathered and waited patiently. None of which got my wife's hint to change to more suitable getups. Especially the person trying to pass himself off as a 'king of heroes'. You could have gone with any character with exceptions of course, but you had to go with him of all people?

"Yes." the man remarked, pumping his chest out so his golden set of armor could be on full display. While his regular hair would do for this sort of thing, he still went for a golden blonde wig and a shit-eating grin. "What do you think, Hazard?"

Hazard or as his full title suggests, Lord Hazard, was a large humanoid something or other (my notes don't entirely say what he is exactly but that's the assumption at least.) dressed in a set of plate armor. Not quite a bright blue, but he was sporting a rainbow cape.

_Scanning…_

_Opening Analyzer…_

**Lord Hazard**

**Humanoid, CR 16**

**Special Abilities: Hazard Stab**

**.**

**Hazard: Oh. I got a reclass or something.**

**Rune: Eh. You were in need of one.**

**Hazard: Didn't I also have a sword as well?**

**Rune: Maybe? It's been a whole.**

_Scan Complete._

_Closing Analyzer..._

"She has a point. Rune." Hazard remarked and pulled the wig off. "Yeah. That's a lot better."

Rune looked away, shedding the set of armor he chosen for today's excursion. In place of it, was a (hopefully) more armoured business suit. It better be. Though, he was now sporting a pouch by his left hip. Which makes this getup a slight improvement over his old one. No clue on what rocks he has packing though. Probably the same ones that he's always had

"Here we are." a voice announced as kari appeared. Wait. Scratch that. That's actually a pink catgirl appeared. Adorned in a gray wrap dress and sandals now, she looked comfortable, Kuro Neko, I presume? "Why thank you, nya."

Kuro just shrugged. I guess she doesn't know. While understandable, that doesn't explain how you lost her in the middle of a teleport of all things. I think you might need to shorten your leash with her.

"Maybe, nya."

Following right behind the former priestess, was Talia. Except they had decided to switch to their true outfit in the middle of the teleport. Which basically meant a full-on ballroom gown with its layers of cyan petticoats and proper opera gloves. Angie hung to the lady gunner's back side, humming some tune I don't quite recognize. It's probably from one of those high-class branakan cartoons or something. Whatever the case, Angie jumped down and made a beeline to the far edge of the circle. We find a pair of women. The one on the left was dressed similarly to Talia, just with a indigo ballroom gown with gold accents. A whip hung at her side, while their black hair had been tied back into a bun of sorts. Which made their grey eyes all the more prominent at the moment.

"You forgot your headband. Again." the woman remarked and got a sigh from Talia. She pulls a yellow cat ear headband out, slipping it carefully into the lady gunner's drill curls. Wait, if they're both AI, shouldn't you just be able to poof that stuff back on?

"I usually forget that stuff is part of my outfit." Talia explained as she attached the paw accessories to her gloves. Last but not least, was the tail. "Our students usually don't point it out either me or Kathy."

Wait. You're both teachers? I thought you ran around trying to make sure there was enough Jestery's to go around.

That remark got me a deep breath, followed by a chuckle.

"You're a bit rusty, toots." the woman beside Kathy remarked, leaning forward. This is your general reminder that I'm taken by two people already. "Boo."

Kathy shot their wife a look.

"Ririsu…" she mumbled, getting a light chuckle in return. Which I guess brings us to truly wonderful woman. Okay. Maybe she's not so wonderful. But that's kind of a case of past mistakes.

Dressed in a crimson-colored kimono decorated with a wing pattern, this lady had quite the pair of assets (especially when compared to mine). A bladed fan sits at her side, while a set of platform greta sandals cover their feet. Finishing off her look, was a magenta geisha haircut with slutty makeup. None of which really highlighted her red eyes all that well. But that's beyond the point, especially as the bird that Davis had for some reason landed on her shoulder. She's definitely not from Branaka. But where exactly, I couldn't tell you.

"Who's a good birdy?" Ririsu remarked, as her gaze turned to her significant other. "I trust that things went well?"

Talia nodded. After, the time was taken to rub off any snow that could've gotten on them in the last couple moments.

"Shouldn't be too long." they remark and went about reloading their guns. While that happened, Kathy got her whip at the ready. Of course, someone had other ideas. In this case, it took the form of a female humanoid bird thing. Coated in a shade of fluorescent pink, all that seemed to serve was to distract from the massive claws. It made the marbles there were in use for eyes all the less noticeable at the moment. Beside her is a wolf humanoid. Male for this one, he had gone for a cobalt sort of finish. Unlike his companion, he had gone for actual clothes. Which isn't saying much, since he had decided that the wannabe rocker look was in at the moment. Not that I'm any better when it comes to that sort of stuff. I walk around in a kimono of all things. Doesn't matter the season or time of the day. Okay, I do make sure to put on my pajamas when I head to bed. But that is beyond th-

"Can't I live my glory days a little bit?" the wolf remarked, just catching a beam of light pointed in his direction. "I'll get to you later!"

Whoever they were talking to gave them some kind of response, not that I could really tell from here.

"Hey guys." a voice greeted, coinciding with the arrival of Da- I mean Diana. Gone was the vest with the t-shirt and pants combo. In place of it was now a cobalt pinafore ballroom gown right at home in the Victorian era. Matching heels and opera gloves are on full display, with the finishing touch coming in the form of a maid bonnet set within smooth locks of dull red hair. By dull, I mean the color. Not how interesting the hair color is. Just wanted to make sure the distinction was clear.

In other words, a domestic outfit perfect for days in Branaka spent helping those they care about. Yeah, I wonder if I can get a certain someone or should I say someones to give such outfit a try without their fursuits?

Judging by the looks I appear to be getting at the moment, that is a definite 'no'. Was worth a shot. All I'm saying is that a little bit more variety in your selection of outfits outside of work would do the two of you a tiny bit of good. Sorry. When your job involves you mostly working with some of the best and worst people around for eight hours a day, five days a week, you start looking for other things to think about. Back to the story.

Of course, Diana hadn't come alone for this particular encounter. That would just be silly and quite unfair. Which brings us to their companions.

We have what looks to be an action figure of all things to start out our trio. Formed out of a mix of plastic and metal, this behemoth of a mecha was not the sort of thing you would expect to see on a battlefield such as this. Maybe on a large creature's bookshelf. Or even in a museum where it could pose for guest's here.

Especially with the varying levels of craftsmanship on full display here. Mismatched shades of metallic blue streaked about the body, with the accenting colors being whatever the painter wanted them to be. Any detail held within had already been lost. Which is quite a shame. The model itself looks just copyright free enough to be splashable in other works. But this is too unique of a piece of art to do such a thing too. Sorry about this mr mecha thing. Hopefully you'll find a good home when this is all said and done.

The mecha sighed, looking away. Which in turn, got the attention of her partner for the moment. She made her way over,

"Don't let her get you down, bud." Diana cooed as her other companion did a quick stretch and focused on those she would soon be fighting.

"The more things change." they remark, revealing themselves to be a woman of some description. A sapphire evening dress covered most of their body, while a set of sandals was good enough for the feet. Sandy blonde locks reached down to the middle of her back, while a set of lapis eyes shifted their focus over to their current master. "If it helps, I probably won't betray you this time."

Her response was returned with an eye roll. If anything, I'm fairly certain that your allegiances are so all over the place that you've lost track, Varia.

"It hurt a hell of a lot, for the record." Diana countered, letting a deep breath follow their remark. "Not that it really matters now. Let's fight."

As the words exited their mouth, they found the opponents already hard at work getting to their fullest potential.

That meant an outfit change for some people's partner. A far cry from the methods they had once used, the rules were still the same. Something something energy, change of mass

"Angie costume change too…"

Once more, Angie donned her costume. While slightly faster than the previous attempt, she did have the help of her 'mom's' this time around. Not that this was a bad thing. Far from it, in fact. Of course, that does beg the kind of obvious question - where's Ken Jr? I would assume that you guys brought both of your children with you.

A sigh from Kathy, which was then followed by them pointing towards a nearby tree. A teenage boy looks to be angsting at the moment. Dressed in a skirt suit instead of say a ballroom gown. Though, something tells me that this is just for this trip. Two brown ovals, with a head of reddish black hair. Not the combination I was expecting to find here. Could be worse if you think about it. Not that you really should in that regard.

Ken Jr gazed up towards the sky. Just barely, I can make out the muttering of something. Perhaps a random greeting. Maybe a rhetorical question. Whatever the case, something is incoming.

"You're real, right?" the chosen remarked and let his gaze be split between Kathy, Talia and Diana. To answer your question, yes. Well, in the sense that we're all fictional characters that originated from some random digimon fanfic that wrapped into a full-on original universe. "That's not helping my problem."

Oh. Sorry about that. If you're looking for therapy, you're asking the wrong person. While my wife would possibly be a better person in this regard, I'll give this a shot. Just bear with me, okay? We've all been on this rollercoaster far too long.

"I guess." the chosen remarked, coming across as a stereotypical teenager to an extent. Which he was. But that's beyond the point. "Am I 'real', even if the people who birthed me aren't? Or does that just make me a bunch of zeros and ones?"

Technically both, if that's to be believed. We're contained within a virtual space that exists on a flat plane made up of words written in the font family 'Arial'. We'll then be transmitted across the web into two forms. Both of which are exactly the same content-wise, with one key difference.

"What the difference?"

One is done up by default in the 'Verdana', though that can be changed with the click of a button. The other side is 'Lucia Grande'. That can't be changed as easily. Something about 'skins'. Not that of the stuff that covers our bodies. More of, these are 'conversions' for specific fics or even the whole site.

"Uh… I think I'm alright for the moment." Ken Jr remarked, letting his skirt suit revert back to his natural state - a ballroom gown. A mix between Kathy's dark blue and Talia's cyan, I can see that you're their favorite.

Ken Jr's cheeks glowed pink, the tapping of heels against the dirt following. Though, are those wings poking out of your back? They look quite wonderful, by the way. There kind like those found on a butterfly. If you get what I'm saying.

"Uh… thank you?" he whispered and made a beeline for Kathy. Giving his 'mother' a curtsy, he took his place beside Angie. I guess that means that he's already costume changed. Oh right. The analyzer.

_Initiating Scan…_

_Analyzing…_

**Ken Jr**

**Mixed Creature (Insect-Humanoid), CR 8**

**Special Abilities: Unknown**

**.**

**Sachiko: How exactly does that work? **

**Talia: Yeah. I guess our boss installed that recently. Something about other projects.**

**Diana: Kind of a shame though. Our story is at an end.**

_Scan Complete._

_Closing Analyzer…_

Yes, but we can't go forever. We all got our end. The time has more or less come to pass on the torch for lack of a better word.

"I guess." Diana muttered, following it up with a statement under her breath. Nonetheless, we return our focus back to our heroes. More specifically, Joe of all people. Who has taken the whole 'I've died a couple times so I'm going to come back ten times stronger'. Something along those lines. I think…

"That's one way to put it." the only non-original character character at the moment (okay, maybe that's pushing it) remarked, deciding that he was going to do one-handed pushups. An impressive feat of strength, discounted by the seal nonchalantly smoking a joint.

"Man… this is some good stuff." the seal announced, blowing a smoke ring for the moment. "Want a bit of a buzz?"

Joe shook his head and stood up. After, his attention turned to Talia.

"This time, no drop-

Before he had a chance to even finish that sentence, the universe decided to drop a building on him. How rude of said universe to do so. At least it's not an airship this time? Or does that make it worse?

Before Joe even had a chance to really respond, the building slid itself off. On closer inspection, the building appears to be the religious kind. But that's just judging by the stained glass window of what can only be described as a woman dressed questionably with the sun behind her. I think.

"Hi!" the building greeted and made a body of sorts appear on its front porch. As bodies went, gray upper torso isn't half bad. Black dots for eyes, not so much. "I'm a ch-"

Church? Yeah. Heard about you and the weird controversy over your size. Personally, I would call bull on your top speed being 100 ft and all, but what do I know?

Oh. I've just been handed a note from my wife. Let's see here… Oh, all she has to add is that is that he's a cleric. Kind of fitting, even if it doesn't quite work the same way that it used too.

"Me confused why that would be a problem." the church remarked as he took in his landing site. "Me more likely to get left behind than anything else."

The sound of dogs barking followed his statement. You're not helping here, for the record.

"Do I need to leave?" Church-kun continued and found the gaze of Joe right on him. "Me sorry about landing on you."

Joe took a deep breath, only to follow a chuckle of all things to follow.

"I'm going to assume you falling down here was some unrelated incident, not the work of my nemesis." the bodybuilder remarked as his gaze turned someone off to the side. "Shade…"

The aforementioned 'Evil Izzy'. Hard at work with whatever the fuck he's doing at the moment. Better not be involving Mimi.

Shade looked up from his project and just chuckles (I really want to smash that stupid grin off his shitty face and be done with it). Every part of him rubs me the wrong way. While I'm glad the whole order mess is now a memory that I shouldn't technically remember, that doesn't change the fact of all the things they did. You still kidnapped an innocent woman and turned her into that plant creature. You rained hell down upon many a victim. Is wrong to not really get your motives that well? A man like you could've easily profited off of your inventions and lived a happy life.

"Oh. It's you." Shade muttered and looked up towards the sky. A deep breath followed. "If I was in it for the money, that wouldn't be all that fun. I guess I liked to think that I was somehow the genius inventor helping the brave heroes. I gu-"

The whip of a vine put an end to that. Thanks… Sis. Or was it cousin. One of the two in that regard. Which also signaled the entrance of our next combatant. Dressed in what could only be described as a garb of leaves, I know the look far too well.

"Rawr." the combatant mutters, the remains of her partner hanging limply at her side. A part of me wants to give her my old partner, but she probably just kill them without a second thought. Her eyes stare out, but any trace of humanity has long since been destroyed in her own pitiful self-destruction. Sorry, a part of me just feels like I could've done more to stop this. But then I remember that you were kind of fine with wallowing in your mess until someone rescued you from it.

I digress though, since Shade's partner has finally decided to make themselves known. Thanks for that. An angel, he's gone for what appears to be a female model. A large titan of metal and hydraulics, they look ready to take on whatever Diana brought to this party. Please don't kill us all.

"Yes, ma'am." the angel remarked, their tone unflinching and I guess kind of caring. But that's not saying much in regards to what is essentially a killing machine. "I beg your pardon. We have hobbies."

Such as?

"Playing Mausoleums and Machines, knitting and sometimes playing what you little twigs call 'darts'."

Huh. I guess it makes sense for your kind to need stuff to do. Especially after we all murdered your rulers.

"Yes. It was quite a blow to actual society forming. But we managed to pull what little we have together and have settled the place known as 'Heck'. Did get a spook when that priest dude showed up."

Wait. Is that still technically 'canon'? Or am I thinking of the other incident?

"Other incident." Talia muttered, letting us focus back in on this unnamed angel. Right now, they seem to be working on a scarf of all things. Purple looks to be the base color, with some traces of green to boot. Quite fitting now that I think about it. Costume change, I assume?

"Not really." the angel continued, taking the time to observe Talia and her crew. "Is that what the people are doing over there?"

Well, they've already done it. You might want to look up above a couple pages. Or perhaps more than a couple pages.

"Got it."

Okay, now who's left for this jamboree of sorts? I'm certain that's nearly everyone. Who exactly could we be missing now? Oh right. We need a 'Tai'. Does he really count in this situation? Wasn't he supposedly a figment of Kuro's imagination given life in the hope that it would hide the fact that she was in fact a catgirl transfigured into a regular human girl. Who was also a priestess for some mysterious religion that our boss never got around to expanding upon. Or something like that. Sure, he did make an appearance once or tw-

"Excuse me, is this the place where the big old reunion of sorts is occurring?" a voice announced as a large dinosaur entered stage right. A woman appears to be riding on it at the moment. Their attire appears to be a cross between a kimono and a dress of all things. It's a strange shade of magenta, more of a shade of red than pink. Bright, girly patterns decorate the garment

Their dinosaur was dressed much the same as them for some reason.

"Marissa is here. Took me long enough." the woman remarked, letting us take in the intricate brunette bun her hair had been tied in. A variety of cutish gold ornamentation had carefully added with jewels mixed for good measure. A katana wobbles slightly in the wind. If anything, that can't be her. She was the girl who wanted to be a princess. Why does she look like a cross between a kimono lady and a wannabe fetish artist?

"This is the best way to represent the country of Uraboros." Marissa continued and let out a sigh. "A country of cuteness, a country of steel."

So it's some weird cross between harajuku and japanese history? Are we certain that's really that good of an idea? Sure, Ai and Cho recently opened up a Plush Cafe in one of their major cities, but I can't see that working.

"That's one way to put it." Marissa continued and shifted her stance on her ride of sorts.

.

**Second Intermission Time!**

Yes, you read that right. This fic is so long that we need a second intermission. Hopefully, we'll not need a third.

Which brings us back to the flower shop once more. While the room in question is still the same as before, we can observe a slight change in posture of both Chaos and Freya. Though, I think one can just make out a notebook of some kind. It was possibly in regards to work, some new costume in regards to a theme. I could be wrong though.

Judging by the look I'm now getting, I've been spotted.

'Your turn now.' Chaos signed, taking the time to get off the bed and head over to the chair. Or would've, had not for an electric spark coursed through the air in that general direction. It didn't really hit anything, but it was annoying to have such guests intrude on what was supposed to be a closed business. 'Now what?'

Right on cue, a young girl with mouse ears entered stage left. Adorned in a yellow dress with a mix of white and bubblegum pink petticoats, the whole thing looked like it could easily pass for some sort of lolita getup. Long white socks stretch up her entire legs and end at a set of matching yellow heels. Even her skin has a yellowish tone to it, complementing the locks of dandelion blonde hair tied into twin tails.

"Who are you?" Freya muttered as she got from the bed and focused on the woman. While her time with Chaos was all over the place, she couldn't quite remember such a woman ever getting anywhere close. "What business do you have here?"

Almost on cue, the woman flashed a pose. If I had to take a guess, she was emulating an idol of some kind. That was then followed by the charging of electricity in their cheeks.

Are we really doing this, Daisy? We're no longer rivals outside of business (I guess).

The electricity dissipated as our guest turned her attention towards me. While I don't really 'hate' the idol, she sits in a special place that you find difficult customers.

"I heard this was the last big entry, so I wanted a piece of the action."

Chaos's attention swiveled on over. Freya was right there with her, hands on the hilt of her blade. You better not have pierced through our bed again. It was hard enough getting the bed replaced last time.

"I didn't, dear." Freya muttered and took the time to look over to me. I just chuckle. Then it's back on over to Daisy here. Where's that stupid whale when you need her. Like seriously, I thought you told us you had her on a tight leash. Walking into someone else's shop is not the definition of that. In fact, it's the opposite of said definition. So I'm only going to ask this once. Please leave.

"Why? I just waltzed on in through the open door." the idol remarked, pulling out what appears to be a microphone. Cordless, I really hope she forgot to charge the dang thing. Oh. I probably should've just thought that rather than say it.

'Here I am.' Chaos signed and we switched out. But not before Freya tossed Daisy out. Thanks for that.

You're welcome.

I make sure to kiss her of course. She's (Sachiko) had to put up with a lot of my crud in the last couple years. In between my goth phase and our temporary falling out, she stuck with me. Sure, we added one more into our relationship. But that was something we decided on as a couple after much deliberation.

**Second Intermission End!**

.

Back where the heck this is taking place, our combatants had gone to their respective sides. Church-kun for some unknown reason, had been designated as the referee of all things. He's a priest, not a judge. Which makes him perfect for events like this.

"Thanks for that." Church-kun remarked and let his attention return back to those that had gathered in this moment. "Are both sides ready?"

Diana and her entourage gave a low nod, snapping right back to their opponent's faces mere seconds later. Those facing them down went for a hand signal. I'm not entirely sure if he quite got it. But oh well.

"Begin!"

It was Kuro who made the first move. She casually took a couple steps back, pulling an arrow out from what I hope is a secret compartment (the other option I don't even want to think about). Arrow now in hand, she held it up to her bowstring of her flatbow. While she couldn't quite remember the last combat mission that she had personally taken part in, muscle memory was a helluva thing.

"Here goes nothing." she whispered and let the arrow fly.

As for the target, I'm not entirely certain. But our former priestess did use this opportunity to get her partner's attention.

"Yes, your majesty?" Snowy remarked and got a whisper in return. "Fine. but you better give me some of that good stuff when ."

While the nekomata got no answer, she still dashed forward. Though, she never actually changed out of her costume. Consider how quick of a turn around there probably was on their end, it's perfectly understandable.

Snowy made a beeline for Varia, weaving through the lasers that I hope are coming from what I can only assume is Diana's robot thing. Sachiko probably should've asked what their name was. Probably something normal like Bill or Ted. I get the reasoning behind it, just makes it kind of disappointing in the face of all the cool robot names.

"Steve." the robot announced and waved towards the camera. So I waved back. Not that such a feat could be seen. Then it was back to firing nameless attack lasers off. I'll take what I can get right now.

"Here kitty, kitty." Varia taunted as her current opponent finally reached her. "So is this the best on offer from the Branakan Empire? I was expecting a lady knight not someone's replacement pet."

**Neko Scratch!**

"I am no one's replacement pet."

Snowy smashed a paw into Varia's body, grabbing hold of the sorceress's top. Her claws did the rest of the work, sliding down an inch or two. That's quite a mark. Especially as the arrow her master shot pierced into Steve's body.

**Moon: Snake!**

Varia flung one of her gladius up into the air and used the now free hand to unleash a small thing of goop onto the ground. The cherry on this sundae was the catching of her sword without skewering herself. While Varia can't see it, I'm clapping for her.

"Why thank you." she muttered.

This... 'goop snake' squirmed about in place, only to charge head-on for Snowy. So the nekomata gave it a slight nick. A perfect opportunity for the creature to snake it's way up her leg.

"Get off of me!" Snowy screeched and smashed a fist into her leg. The snake fell back to the ground, but not before piercing through her skin. "You win this round, snake!"

Snowy dashed over to Kuro, giving little attention to Kathy stepping up. I'm kind of surprised that you weren't offered an out this time. Had Diana gave you the choice, would you have taken it?

Kathy took a deep breath and looked away.

"No." the teacher muttered, their gaze snapping back over to their opponents. "While I kind of understand why they did it, but I need to stand by my wife."

Got it.

With that, Kathy focused in on Diana.

"Sorry about this, dear." they greeted, taking the time to curtsey. The whip came out right after. "Don't think of this as a punishment."

When the last word exited their mouth, she charged forward and pulled her weapon back. Ken Jr made sure to keep in step with their 'mom'. Even if it looked more like fluttering than actual walking. Same difference in that regard. I guess.

**Rope Illusion!**

The teacher flung their weapon forward, not even taking the time to even see where the end reached (Steve in this case). No, they just pull the weapon back one more time. Was kind of expecting her to

"You little…" Varia muttered and took a step forward, swinging both of her swords at the pair. The blades were met with what looked to be a pair of combat knives. I guess go with what works then?

"Is that a problem?" Ken Jr remarked as his left blade stabbed into Varia's top. Which is now the second or third hit to what I can only assume is a blouse of some kind. Possibly borrowed from her former tamer chosen person. Oh right, you asked about the whole knife thing. While the fact that this is your default weapon isn't the problem, at least tell me that that Branaka didn't go with the same combat knife.

Carefully, he flashes me the knife. It kind of looks someone looked at a feather duster and thought, 'hey, let's turn this into a weapon'.

"You're actually on the money there." Ken Jr continued, knocking a gladius back. "Their maid knives, as most people refer to them."  
Oh. So not used for cutting fruit and veggies, but instead skin and possibly bone? What kind of threats are running around your kingdom to require such a thing?

"Well, there are some people that have a tendency to look up the skirts of people's ballroom gowns - especially the maids. Even when most guidebooks explicitly say absolutely not to do that."

I'll take your word for it. I would like to visit there one of these days. How's the accessibility of the kingdom? Are their those that speak with their hands?

"Could this stuff wait? We're in the middle of a battle." Diana muttered, currently wrapped up in Kathy's whip at the moment. I got a bit carried away. Though, I should visit at some point. I can't let a certain 'someone' get rusty.

"I heard that, nya!"

There's been talk of a Plush Cafe supposedly coming to somewhere in Branaka. Not sure when, especially after the success of the two here in Digia City and the one recently opened in Uroboros. You know, expanding it into a proper franchise. So one of these days. ;)

Kuro let out a groan, which came right as Kathy pulled their whip away. A low whistle followed, which I assume was the agreed upon signal for the pair. But not before Ken Jr got a wing strike in. For good measure.

"You're up, honey." Kathy cooed and shot their significant other a look. Talia nodded and held a gun up. While they wait for their significant other and child to at least cross back over, the bullet they shoot comes quite close to them.

"Really, Talia?" Diana countered and swung at the bullet. While the aim of the blade was quite remarkably solid, the projectile passed on by the servant and looked to be a collision course with Steve. Nice to see the lady gunner has some level of matur-

**Shell Split!**

The bullet shattered in a cloud of smoke, only for twelve more of similar size and caliber to take the place of it. That's an interesting way to do it. Not sure if it's any more efficient than just firing twelve shots and hoping that one of them hits. The rounds pepper the opponents, which means I've been corrected in that regard.

"Weren't expecting that, were you?" Talia announced and charged forward, Angie doing her best to keep up. Kind of impressive watching them run in heels. Sure, that's the sort of skill that takes a lot of practice and effort. But damn, it's amazing just watching them. Oh right. The battle.

Somehow, Angie managed to beat her father to the mark. Hopefully this isn't a sign of someone getting rusty.

"I doubt that." the lady gunner muttered as they reloaded one of their derringers. "She may have jumped the gun."

**Light Hits!**

Angie jumped into the air, swinging her staff into the knock-off robot as many times as she could manage. Which was actually quite a bit more than her last attempt. Though, it's kind of hard to really gauge the amount of actual damage done at the moment. Sure, getting what I assume to be your knee pierced with an arrow and getting what I can only assume is the private area smashed in with a stick are not things I would want happening to me. Not one bit.

"Thanks for the reassurement." Steve remarked and turned his attention to Talia and their daughter. "Am I up to your standards? I practiced really hard for this day."

Talia just shrugged.

"I've seen trainees do more damage in a single strike than in the last couple pages." the lady gunner countered and fired off both of their pistols. One bullet was for Varia, the other for Diana.

"You sure know how to be hard on your other very important person." Diana muttered, only for their significant other to just roll their eyes. "Though, you do manage to make up for the times."

So the former timekeeper charged forward, one of their dao broadswords pulled back. I believe you can see where this is going. Well, I hope you can at least.

A shot pierced through the air. A concussive blast of some kind, it was more than enough to knock the charging opponent to the ground as well as lodging both of those stupid chinese scimitars into the ground.

"You got me there."

Talia's gaze had already shifted away from Diana, now being more focused on a nearby building. Just barely, a woman around their age could be made out. Unlike the rest of the entourage surrounding the lady gunner, she appears to have gone for a look from Uroboros. A black cherry short dress twisted around her body, decorated in a mix of bullets and halos. Which is an odd choice, considering what looks to be bright pink leg warmers were just poking out. Heck, I doubt one could really fit a sniper rifle into a such a tiny kitty-themed purse. Even if you could, you would have to worry about getting glitty or plastic sequins on the thing. Don't even get me started on the hair either. I suspect you wish to come across as goth at the moment, but the neon pink on black isn't doing any of it justice. Baggy eyes and chapped lips, her makeup

"I was uh… undercover for a job." the woman muttered and looked away, a jingling sound following. She looks down, finding what looks to be a little fox keychain hanging from her purse. "Stupid thing. So what I enjoy dressing up like this. Maybe there is some days I don't want to be seen as the finest of Branaka's Lady Knights."

Uh… No one was accusing you of that stuff. I think you need a nap. Talia, do you think you can grab miss crankypants here? She needs quite a bit of rest.

"Of course." Talia remarked and turned their attention to Angie. "I need to go and help mommy."

Angie's attention turned to their parent. A lot of what was going on went right over her head, with only brief traces really caught and understood. She understood that her fourth mommy was here, but why she was so angry at the sky? The sky hadn't done anything wrong in her book. Though, the voice sounded different. Such a change was simply minor, like a part just wasn't there at the moment. Though, they didn't sound like the strange lady in the kimono. Maybe they were the weird cosplayer that spoke with their hands for some reason.

"Fun Mommy or Horny mommy?"

Talia sighed, taking the time to kneel down to be on their daughter's level. A part of them hated this. It reminded them of back then. Of all the days stuck in their own head just trying to break free of the shell they had been cast into. Maybe it was after dying again did the spark truly return. But this was necessary. Some days were simply not at our best.

"Fun Mommy." they whisper.

Angie looked away, trying to make out the woman. Then it was back to Talia.

"Best of luck, shooty mommy." she whispered and wrapped their arms around their 'mother'. They accepted the gesture. Then they were up into the air and making a beeline for the nearby rooftop.

"Hikari."

The titular sharpshooter looked up from her scope. What looked to be a large tie-dye bear sat by her side. Every part of her looked ready to just collapse to the ground and have a nice long rest. But the wicked don't seem to get that. All we get is insomnia. Supposedly. That's why he told me once. It had to suck at times, just trying to find some silver lining to a mess you created for yourself. Even worse is when no one can see all the 'weight' you put on just to say the right thing, fuck it up and all they see is the person who messed up. Not the person who gave it all, stumbled, tried to course correct, only to smash their head into the pavement.

"Uh…" Hikari started, looking away as Talia made their rest. "Sorry about running off on you again."

Talia just looked away, a sigh being her response.

"You came back. That counts for a lot of things." the lady gunner countered, taking the time to examine their wife. She had fallen quite hard for this kawaii lifestyle. Especially as we now see the suitcase filled to the brim with more of her new. "You look amazing, by the way. So go get some rest."

After saying that, Talia made a portal appear. Hikari stood up, which made bells on her heels of all things to ring. A giggle from her significant other.

"I'll get you for that later." she added and headed on through. Good job on that. I guess I'll have to ask you about work after this.

"If you're really that interested in that sort of thing." Talia muttered and floated on down. "To answer your question dear viewers, were in the dream dimension. Yeah. Been a while."

Now back on solid ground (Jestery better not change that), Joe was up next. Please may we not have a repeat of the last couple instances. Like seriously, can we not have something fall from the s-

"Airship!"

Of course, I managed to jinx it. Joe can't catch a break. I guess the Hunters Crew really wanted to take part once more? Yeah, that sounds about right.

"We brought grape juice!" someone (most likely the captain) announced, only to find themselves being ignored. Never was quite sure how to feel about these numbskulls. They served as the first big step, but too much time all alone kind of made things a lot harder down the road. Kind of hard to improve when one is so steadfast that things are good enough. Well after things were all said and done, he admitted that a swift kick in the pants was what he needed. Glad that got through.

We'll get back to you… hopefully. Though, that does beg the question of where a certain tiger and her master are. Lupe acknowledged the former, but where exactly could the latter be? A question that we can deal with later to an extent. But right now, we have to find someone to replace hi-

Do you think you can help us out, Church-kun?

Church-kun looked up towards the sky and gave a nod. After, he tried his best to focus in on the camera.

"Hi there, viewers!" the titular church announced and began messing with something. I think those are dice. Well, I hope so at least. "Oh great Lya, I call upon your powers once more!"

Light collected at the hands of this strange creature, shooting forth in a solid beam.

"May the heat of their sins be cleansed within, for within all is the willingness to change!"

I realize our boss is far from perfect at times, but I think that might be a bit on the nose. But works to an extent. Go on ahead, our large church friend.

The light held within shoots forth, piercing through the airship and making a beeline right towards Varia. Which makes sense, considering some of the stuff she pulled back then.

"Hey, I've been much more on the straight and narrow." the sorceress muttered as her gladiuses glowed a light shade of green.

**Wind: Bird!**

The sorceress floated up into the air, making a beeline right for the church. Better hope those spell slots? Wait. Why aren't they called Prayer Slots? That would make far more sense when dealing with those of the faith. Would that mean that bards would have melody slots then? Yeah, I could see that working. Paladins, faith. Warlocks… uh, Eldritch Slots! Yeah. Something like that. I'm probably missing the half dozen subclasses that also get magic for some reason.

"What the fuck are you even talking about?" Varia responded, getting no answer at first. To answer your question, talking spell sl-

Oh. I've been handed a note. Wait. I forgot about Rangers and Druids? Hmm… Secret slots for Rangers and Nature slots for druids. Like I said, problem solved.

"Maybe these seeds be engulfed in Lya's fire, giving forth to plants." Church-kun announced and deposited some acorns on the ground. After, he somehow managed to get right on top of said debris without somehow smashing the acorns. I'm not entirely sure what he's going to do.

"Does someone smelling something burning?" Kathy remarked as a loud boom rang through the air and launched our church up into the air. Because screw physics in every possible sense of the word. Something like that.

"I'll give you props for that." Varia muttered, trying to keep as straight of a face that one could manage when faced down by a large church. Kind of impressive to see. Absolutely terrifying too. Definitely don't want to be facing down him. The two forces of motion met, with the church winning out and Varia being sent flying. After, he fell right back to the ground. It was actually quite smooth. Well, as landings go at least.

"Did me do good?" Church-kun remarked, scurrying over to his original position. To answer the question, your performance was quite amazing. "Thank you!"

.

**Third Intermission Start!**

Judging by the way my wife is looking at me right now, my shift is up. I doubt this is the last time.

So Chaos gets up from the chair and I, Sachiko switch off with her.

**Third Intermission End!**

.

It was ClockworkBiyomon's turn. I actually don't know what she'll bring to this battle. She's been kind of an enigma for as long as this mess has gone on. Was she ever on Victoria's side? Was there ever a resistance of sorts to begin with? Or was that stuff better off in the void? Crud. I'm getting philosophical on the viewers. Sorry about that.

Back to our birdy friend here, they look to be winding themselves up at the moment.

"Take that pun back." the bird remarked and shot forward.

**Clockwork Twister!**

Instead of a sideways twister of flames, Varia and company found themselves facing down the full blast of an industrial fan. Because that sounds fair. Well, outside of the fact they could use some magic rocks and just anchor themselves down. But you know, can't have it easy.

"I could eat one of them." ClockworkBiyomon announced licking what I hope is just their metal lips.

Just no. We already have enough problems without you getting us a mature rating. We're doing so well, so please don't eat someone.

"I still want to vore someone." ClockworkBiyomon announced and got a look from her son. Well, he's not quite her son. But that's not really the point at the moment. What is (I think), is somehow preventing this mad bird from eating a person. Without killing her. Not because she was integral to this plot. More because eating one of the enemies would be bad publicity that none of us really want. Especially since this would fall upon on the Branaka Empire.

"We prefer to avoid those sorts of situations." a voice announced as a black cat made herself known. I could call bull on that, but this is the dream world. Not much use in doing that right now. "Especially anything involving smuggling."

I thought we all agreed that incident didn't happen. I understand we all were hoping for things to work out, but they didn't. We just need to accept it.

Victoria took a deep breath and let out a chuckle. I kind of want to feel the same way as she does to an extent. Though, for far different reasons.

Finally coming into focus, the black cat was one of the few to not have a major costume change. I'm not sure if the whole 'moon lilith' thing actually increases her powers or not.

"Here I am, dear." she muttered and made quick time over to Kuro. She made to curtsy, of course. Can't forget about that. While the former priestess was happy to see her wife, there was still the matter of a certain someone. Everyone (it seems at least) has been bringing their

"Where is she, nya?" Kuro remarked and Victoria took a deep breath. I realize you two were stuck in Victorian times for a bit, but how is the family doing?

"Quite well. Finally got around to planting Flower in the Royal Gardens." Victoria explained and got her butterfly swords out. "The kids have finally reached 'adulthood'."

The teenage years must have been quite hard. I don't envy you.

"You're on thin ice, young lady nya." Kuro added and took a deep breath, only for a portal to appear. "Oh. There she is."

A woman stepped out and dusted what looked to be their camisole dress. Though, I didn't know they could make such a garment out of dragonskin. A set of heels were on full display, which made the woman's pink and black hair all the more noticeable. A set of cat ears replaced the set expected, while violet cat eyes gazed upon what I hope is their parents.

"Vyss dear, you made it." Victoria answered as the pair approached their child. "So what did you get yourself into?"

Vyss sighed, not even trying to keep her focus on her mother. No, instead she was focusing in on the ground and trying to hold her hands behind her back.

"Uh… mom?" their daughter started and brought her hands forward. There, a gold ring awaited. Inset with "Uh… I kind of got engaged."

Both black cat and former priestess did a double take. A million thoughts rolled about their head. Was it a guy? A girl? Humanoid? Beast? Something in between? This was not something to just drop on a trip back.

"A dragon. Female." Vyss continued, only for the dragonskin texture of her outfit to fall onto the ground. It swirled about a little bit, taking on the form of what can only be described as a miniature bronze dragon wearing a green princess dress. Opera gloves covered both the arms and claws, with a light green as the chosen color. Stockings stretched up their legs with a faint kitty pattern included for good measure. Matching heels just poke through from under their petticoats, with a mane of long brown hair. I have just one question. "Yes?"

Where can I get twenty of these?

"Uh…" the dragon started, only to get a shrug from her wife. Carefully, Vyss picked her up and held her out in such a way to be seen by what would be considered their in-laws. "Hi?"

Victoria and Kuro take a step closer.

"Do you have a name by any chance, nya?" Kuro inquired as she carefully moved one of her paws over.

"Cecilia." the dragon whispered and let out a growl. But instead of sounding scary and possibly terrifying, the result was more feminine and cute to an extent. I don't think that was the desired outcome of that at all. It did finally get Snowy's attention, so a draw then? Yeah, let's go with that. "I work as a teaching assistant for your daughter, Mrs…"

Victoria chuckled.

"First off, it's your majesty." she explained and watched Cecilia curtsy. Which was kind of silly, kind of cute. Like it should be with such a small creature. "It's Arcana, by the way."

The newest member of the arcana family nodded, getting set down right after. But not before finding Snowy's attention on them. At least for the moment.

"Can I help you?" she inquired, only to get a low kick from the nekomata. The dragon princess stepped back, pulling out what looked to be a parasol. That's not very scary. At all. Especially when you're standing by one of the scariest things to exist in this universe. But I digress. "Please don't kill me. I'm a family member."

Snowy sighed and turned her attention to Kuro. The former priestess nodded.

"Fine." Snowy muttered as Vyss picked her wife back up.

Oh. It looks like ClockworkBiyomon finally let up that hurricane of hers. I guess it's now Shade's turn. For the love of holy, please don't do something stupid.

"Now I will." Shade joked and pointed towards Steve. His partner complied, making their way over to the rip-off mecha. "Dance?"

The angel looked back. While the order came in loud and clear, this wasn't what she was expecting at all. Sure, this was probably sold to her as a battle of some kind. Not an elaborate excuse to have a dance off.

"You're actually right on the money." the angel muttered and sat down to do some stretches. I guess that sort of makes sense. Don't want to break a hydraulic or an actuator mid-move. If you have those parts, of course. "We're constructs."

Oh. I guess that would probably explain the stretching. Do your kind have any purpose for stuff like gyms and stuff?

The angel looked up to the sky.

"What's a gym?"

Okay… Imagine a place where a bunch of people go and train.

"So a school, in other words?"

I turn to my wife in this moment. Mostly because I hope to god she has a better memory of the educational system than I do. It hasn't been that long, has it? I can sort of remember who we had for health in High School. The school nurse. She was a demoness? No, a pit fiend. Fuck. Chaos, a little help here?

From offscreen, my wife signs something off. Wait. She was a naga. And a prostitute? So that's why she got replaced by a gorgon. Wasn't she the one who came out as a lesbian and married the ogre of a gym teacher? She was? Good on her.

"Uh. What are you even talking about?" the angel finally inquired, forcing our attention back to her. Having finally finished her stretches, her attention was now on Steve.

"Are the dancers ready?" Church-kun announced, holding a hand out for the pair to see. "Go!"

So we're now having a dance battle in the middle of our battle. Wonderful. I guess there's worse stuff they could be using in this battle.

Right out of the gate, we have both dancers doing the robots. You had all the dance moves in the world and you decide upon that as your opening move. You're picking low hanging fruit. You both can do better than that.

"Fine then." Steve remarked and bent over. Hands touching the ground, he let his head meet in between both. A headspin followed. The effort is good, but I can't imagine the pain coursing within at the moment. Like seriously, just the vertigo alone is enough to make me sick. But to do it with your of all things? No thanks.

Eventually, the wannabe mecha got back up and our angel took their turn. I can't look. Okay, maybe a little. Yep. That wasn't worth it. At least she didn't go for something from that battle royale game. I said it. Okay… We seem to have a wannabe conga line. I do hope she realizes that the conga requires more than one person. Or not. She's decided to just mime the other person. Whatever works for you I guess?

"This is going nowhere." Shade muttered and got out what looked to be a set of gears. I think I have a good idea where this is going.

**Hidden Art: Electro Clockwork Cutter!**

Our resident mad something or other threw his creations up into the air, causing them to grow slightly. But no too much. If anything, I'm waiting for the inevitable counterst-

**Twin Katana Beam X2!**

At least let me finish my sentence. I guess that also means that those hunters are at least up and about.

"Sorry about this." a voice announced as what looked to be a guy popped his head out from a hatch on the ship. Dang. It's kind of weird to see him of all people grown up and stuff. Baggy eyes and unruly brunette hair were the first things to grace their appearance on us. Add in the wrinkly t-shirt and pants covered in stains of what looks to be baby food? Yeah, the stuff that looks right at home as medical stuff. Heck, they even put in similar jars. Of course, the titular twin katanas were clung tightly in his hands. No worse for the wear, this served as a nice change of pace for this who's future no longer exist. Uh… sorry about that? Though, how are you doing Ace? After Digital Butterfly fell apart, you and all the other hunters fell off the map.

"Outside of the complete lack of sleep and screaming? Totally wonderful." the lead hunter remarked as he tried his best to stand upright. He was doing an okay job. Even if it's very clear that he and the rest of them needed a whole lot of rest.

Uh… What did you guys get yourself into now? You should be the most carefree and go-lucky people out of everyone here. Maybe.

"Pregnancy does that people. Katherine absolutely irritable, but I guess that's what she got for taking on Arachne's eggs."

Wait, what? I'm no expert (but we do have one here for once), but I don't think that sort of thing is best for whatever she is supposed to be. Let alone in the face of how the hell is she supposed to even care for them?

Before Ace really had a chance to answer my question, he got a tap to his shoulder. So he turns around and whispered something to the person before him.

"Oh. It would seem that someone has decided now of all times is the due date. It was fun talking to you."

Thanks?

The two men duck back into the airship. That was productive. Well, not really.

"I guess that makes it our turn, honey." Rune joked and put a hand on Hazard's back. "Remember back when we were at each throats, trying to kill each other?"

The wannabe king got a chuckle, with his husband pulling out what looked to be a jousting lance of all things. Do you need a horsey as well? While we can't get you one right now, I suspect we can pull some strings.

"No thanks." Hazard remarked and let Rune hop aboard. Once he was properly in, the wannabe king flashed a thumbs-up in such a way that his partner could somehow see it. Which doesn't look painful. I think.

**Lance: Gale!**

Much like the birds that appeared from Varia's gladiuses, Hazard's jousting lance now glowed with seafoam green energy. Here, the only difference seemed to be an increase of speed. Was kind of hoping for something more drastic. Like I don't know, wings or even a proper mount of sorts?

"Sorry to disappoint you then." Hazard continued and pulled his lance back. Their target appeared to be Diana, rather than say - Varia. But I guess they might know something that I don't. Quite possible to an extent in this moment.

Or would've, if not for the sudden appearance of a beam sword by way of Steve.

"You were bound to ask anyhow." Steve answered as his blade was met Hazard's lance. Both combatants were scooted back, but mostly unharmed. "Could you maybe dislodge the arrow though? It's kind of starting to hurt now."

Hazard looked downwards slightly and pulled his lance back. He charged forward and slammed the weapon towards the stuck projectile. I think he just wanted you to pull it out. But oh well.

The arrow was knocked to the ground, but not before lodging the arrowhead in. Which is the exact reason why we don't do that. Understood?

"Yes ma'am." Rune muttered as he got his next infusion or whatever ready. In all seriousness, what are those supposed to be? Weird weapon buffs? Some strange strategy from a place that's conveniently mentioned here and just exists by way of time shifts? Or some combination of the two?

"Uh…" Rune started and flung what looked to be a sword of some kind in the direction of their opponents. The projectile didn't go too far, a shame to an extent. It probably would help if the pair hadn't been in front of Steve at the time. "Crap. Get us out of here."

Hazard complied, making a beeline back towards the group as Mimi of all people stepped up. Are you legitimately sure you want to do this, sis? No one is going to judge either way.

But Mimi does not answer. Of course she doesn't. Why the heck was I even expecting the crazed dryad to stop what she is doing and focus in on the sky? I guess optimism maybe? Yeah. That was probably the answer here. Nothing else could make sense in a situation such as this. I guess I wanted things to be different for lack of a better word. But maybe they never were to begin. That sucks at times. Trying to change things, only to end up full circle for a lack of a better word. Probably just overthinking this at the moment.

Nonetheless, 'Mimi' digs her feet into the dirt. A monstrous shriek followed. It was unlike anything I or possibly anyone here has possibly heard as of late. Though considering the point where we last left off was around a couple months ago, that's a given. As for why, you're probably wondering? It makes life a lot easier on top of giving an excuse for the radio silence of that period (technically). Wait, what are you doing to that woman? I get that your social skills are an absolute mess but I know you can do better in that moment.

Due to me going off on a tangent, Mimi wandered off and found what looked to be a slime woman. Can any of you actually keep your attention on the target at the moment? Can't really see her at the moment. Uh, sorry about this Miss...

"Albura." the slime announced, looking quite frustrated at the moment. "We're sorry about invading. Things changed on our end, so we had to leave."

Yeah. Supposedly that Drow valkyrie lady was meant for something new as well. Didn't work out either. The last thing we heard was that she was staying put.

"I don't know who you're talking about." the slime continued and mumbled something to themselves. "Sorry about this plant thing, I'm going to make this quick."

The sound of a knife piercing into plant-like flesh follows. From this angle, I can see the cutting away of Mimi's partner. Though, that does explain why a black cat plush with a knife was hanging beside her.

"I guess we're popular in other parallel worlds?" Talia remarked as they and Victoria looked over to the plush. "Maybe they know the super-secret move?"

Victoria shot the lady gunner a look. While a chuckle did follow, she definitely didn't look happy to be sharing the spotlight. A kiss to the cheek from her wife did wonders in mellowing her out.

Back onto the slime herself, she appeared to have a brown marble texture with purple lines streaking about. What appears to be an order cloak covers their body, with the hood removed of course. As for the knife, it appears to be one of those fancy-smancy 3D printed daggers. I don't quite see the appeal of those sorts of things. Put a weapon made with love and hard work in my hands and I'll wreck stuff. Not quite sure on those silicon stuff.

"It's made directly from steel." the slime remarked and smoothed her cloak out. I guess that just leaves a certain pair. "They had to make sure all their stuff was ready to move. Especially since this was somehow the best method to leave on."

At the very least, what do you think of your new place? Good schools, access to the train system and everything else you could possibly want.

"Alright. Outside of the sudden surge of memories." Miss Albura remarked and turned her attention to Mimi. "Oh. so that is what she's called."

Her attention turned back to the creepy plant thing. A hug followed. For once,

"By any chance, have you seen some children?" she added, only for Mimi to go in for a bite. Bad Mimi! You know better than to bite at people. To answer your question, not outside of the ones who were brought by people. "Oh. If you see any, could you send them our way?"

Of course. I do hope your start is quite productive and stuff.

Miss Albura gave a nod and skedaddled. But not before handing Mimi back the remains of her partner. Uh… thanks?

.

**Fourth Intermission Start!**

"Let me get this straight." Freya started. For the former of the white mage, just suggesting this idea of what we were suggesting probably sounded crazy. "It does."

Chaos shot me a look. While Talia was probably better in this situation, just having them there instead of here narrating is kind of a necessary precaution. That, and it's a sign of trust from us to you.

'You should be alright.' she signs, helping me up from the seat. In place of her, comes her former partner. 'We'll try to help where we can.'

I give a nod and watch the couple teleport off. My attention turns to a pile of papers off to the side. Looking it over, I'm surprised they went with that photo of us in particular. I wonder what I'll tell Ai and Cho after all of this? I guess I can figure that out later. Nonetheless, I take a deep breath. I can do this.

**Fourth Intermission end!**

.

Testing, testing. Okay. That's on. Guest narrator here. Sorry if my narration is a little rough. This is my first time and stuff.

"Gotcha." Talia remarked as they turned around, finding a familiar white mage and geomancer standing there. Chaos was dressed the same as ever - white mage costume and greatsword. Sachiko had done something similar, but is that a new naginata? I don't think I've seen you carrying that one before. The weapon appears to be exquisitely carved with little fairies

"This one is for special occasions." Sachiko explained and gazed up towards the skies. I'm not entirely certain what she's looking for. To be honest, I haven't been paying that much attention to either narrator. I probably should've, in retrospect.

"It's alright." Talia added and let their focus shift away from their colleagues. "They probably sprung this up on you, didn't they?"

That's one way to put it. I'm the weird third wheel of their relationship. It isn't bad, far from it in fact. Just one part of my life that I wasn't quite expecting.

Talia chuckled and let their gaze shift to the sky.

"So in other words, you worked your way into their hearts?" they joked and found themselves feeling the wrath of a tornado. Not enough to flip their dress skirt and petticoats, but enough to be noticed by the lady gunner. "It's true, though."

Chaos just rolled her eyes. She's so cute like that. Well, more cute than usual. Now, if only we can get her into an outfit other than her white mage's garb. No, your costume for work doesn't count. Though, I would totally love to see you in the nurse getup minus the costume. Please?

Chaos's cheeks went crimson and she looked off to the side. Come on. I'm allowed to tease. A tiny bit.

While this was all happening, Ririsu (yeah, I think that's her name) stepped on up. Her hawk followed right behind. Though, that doesn't explain why she's looking all about. Is that normal for people to do? Actually, scratch that question. Probably isn't.

"Hi mom." she announced as her gaze finally met that of this Varia chick. An enigma, even among my kind. Oh wait. Notes have been thankfully left to help in this situation. Let's see here. Known as the magical sextape mage, her only big claim is her sexual knowledge and potential prowess. Wait, someone actually has proper sexual knowledge. There has to be a catch of some kind.

"No catch. Outside of you performing for me on VHS." Varia cooed. Oh. She's one of those people. Are we certain she's not a succubus in disguise? Because that's what some of the older succubus do to men. I guess there are people who are into that sort of thing. "Yeah. The business has been booming as of late."

"Does your friend know? The one who got disconnected from their world?" Victoria remarked and got an eye roll in return.

"Settled down, hopefully with that atomic guy." Varia countered. "He's a nuclear engineer. Goes all about and stuff. Since this is inevitably going to come up, Sam and I travel around."

That still doesn't explain how you're sort of like me.

The magical sextape mage just looked away.

"How the hell should I know? I wasn't even awake when he was in an emperor sort of mood and decided to magic me up."

That's kind of an awful reason to do such a procedure to someone.

"It made me a goddess of sex. What's not to li-"

Before Varia could even finish, Ririsu charged forward and grabbed hold of the mage's blouse. Which in turn sent both ladies for a tumble. A catfight followed.

"I don't know? Turning your own fucking daughter into a whore?!" Ririsu screeched, grabbing hold of the blouse and ripping parts of it away. "Forcing her to engage in acts with her significant other? Huh? Huh?"

Varia leaned up slightly. She began to chuckle, only to get the taste of fist. Nails too, which I can assume don't taste that good. Nail polish is absolutely awful.

'How do you know that?'

I got curious one day and tried to eat some. I believe it was before a playdate with you and Sachiko. Maybe I was trying to do my nails and seven year old me thought it would be fine to sample the product. Either one of those probably

"So that explains why your face looked awful that one time. Especially when your mom took the photo." Sachiko added, hopefully not at all noticing me try and destroy that photo. Now where is it? I thought I just saw the dang thing a couple minutes. Or not. Wait. Why did the picture change? Oh, is this one of those picture changing frames? "Maybe?"

When they return, I'm getting them back for this. Actually, no. That would be kind of petty. Kind of like the catfight that's currently unfolding right before us. Uh… should one of you maybe break them up?

Talia just shrugged and turned their attention over to Kathy. Somehow, their children had not noticed one of their moms running off to beat their grandma. Wait. So are they all moms or is this weird grandfathering by way of these time shifts?

"Want me to just freak her out with a bullet or do you want to walk over and get your two cents in as well?" the lady gunner remarked, getting a sigh from their significant other in return. "Or we could do bo-"

Before Talia could finish their sentence, Kathy headed off. You still haven't answered my question. I'm just going to assume that this is the latter, but feel free to correct me in that regard if it isn't for some reason.

Nonetheless. Kathy made quick time over to our two combatants. While her whip was not out, the weapon looked ready to pull at least one of them away. Possibly both if the situation called for it.

"Oh. It's you." Varia muttered and pushed Ririsu off, scrambling to her feet right after. "I kept my distance, made sure that my Sam was somehow not related to you. All that stuff."

The mage went for a kick, only to find it met by one from Kathy. Quite impressive reach. Might want to get a tip or two from you in the future.

"Why thank you." the teacher whispered and let their focus turn to Ririsu. "I get it. You have your issues with your mom. but right now, that stuff is in the past. Yes, it still hurts. But we can do better than just spewing words and violence."

Ririsu looked away, giving a nod of sorts. Varia on the other hand, just laughed. I really don't like where this is going.

"Fine." the sextape mage muttered. "You win this round."

With that solved for the moment, it was finally time for Lupe. Doesn't explain the note to watch out for tigers.

"Just come on out." the wolf robot announced and waited. Initially, a low gust of wind passed on through. Followed by a tumbleweed. Then two tumbleweeds. I get that this is the dream something or other, but at least make those bushes. Tumbleweeds have no place in whatever country this is supposed to be. Or maybe they do and I'm just confu-

A roar pierced through the silence, making this the second interruption for this shift. Thanks for that, by the way. Truly appreciate it.

'Calm down, Freya.' Chaos signed as what looked to be a tiger of all things entered stage left. To the former, of course dear. To the latter, it's nice to see you. I think. As for our majestic cat, they were surprisingly pain. Outside of the fact they had some scraps of black fabric on.

The tiger ignored me, choosing to walk over to Lupe.

"Been a while." the wolf muttered, bending down to pet the large cat. "Not going to lie, you're not someone I would like to see. At all."

The tiger looked away. I guess they were a couple at one point, but then the tiger did something so mind-numbingly stupid that their relationship could not be repaired. Even if they could repair it to some extent, one of them managed to die before reuniting.

"Roar."

I'm going to take that as a yes. Even though my feline is absolutely nonexistent.

"Do you at least want to help me here?" Lupe continued, only to get playfully knocked to the ground. "Let's do this then."

After getting back up and dusting himself off, both robot wolf and tiger dashed forward. As for their target, Diana was finally up after what had seemed like forever.

"Thanks?" the former timekeeper remarked as they found themselves facing down a rocket. I guess ClockworkBiyomon loaded him up weapons. I guess that isn't surprising. Even with Hokai Industries efforts with the nekoroids and Sucells, it seems like everyone is so fixated on building the next great robot.

'So on top of working as a performer, you're also an employee with them as well?'

Pretty much. It's more helping out where I can than anything else. Especially when both Ai and Cho get back and they both look done for the day at around 8 o'clock. Investors can be kind of assholes, though the one who takes care of elderly succubi is supposedly really nice.

"Personally, I still prefer one my lady knights over a dedicated killing machine." Victoria chimed in, giving Talia and their crew a wink. "Not that I have any issues with warforged or any of the other non-combat sort of robots."

Both Lupe and ClockworkBiyomon shoot the black cat a look. While I can see why they would think that, I can't remember the last time anyone was seriously using warforged for war. But I digress.

Back with Lupe and his tiger buddy, they had managed to reach their desired opponent. Which doesn't explain how exactly they beat the rocket Lupe had just shot out.

"Rawr." the tiger announced as the rocket brought up the rear and slammed right in Diana with kind of an unsatisfying explosion. So their opponent pulled their broadsword back and waited. Were they getting tired? Maybe. Though, they've gotten the least attention out of the three. So that can't be it. Perhaps they had gotten bored and had a brief lapse of judgement. But considering who they were married too, that was unlikely. In that case, the assumption was that their opponents had some tricks up their 'sleeve'. I don't know, maybe an arm blade of some kind or something? What? I have just the notes to go off of.

But none of those things were the answer here. Mostly because the tiger decided to just tackle the former timekeeper and be done with it.

"Just because you were some weird alternate me then, doesn't mean you're a weird alternate version of me now." Diana muttered and pushed their feline friend off. But not before getting the full wrath of their claws. "Yeah. Data has been changed for better or worse."

So in other words, you're all one big happy family without breeding with your own children? Or something like that.

"That's one way to put it." Lupe remarked and turned his attention to the tiger. "Tigerra, you did good. But that doesn't make us even."

Tigerra looks away, making a beeline towards Victoria. Just barely, they could be heard moping. Which to be honest, I guess they deserve? I'm only an outside observer at best. Unless you want to ta-

"She fed me to a bird." Lupe screamed and shook his fist towards the sky. Which looked to have gotten quite cloudy for some reason. Hopefully that doesn't mean rain for us. "I'm not sure what else to really tell you."

Uh, thanks? That's all I needed to know. I get that you're mad about being vored by some crazy bird woman. It's in the past now and it might be time to let it go. Mostly, at least.

'Says the person who tried to pick a fight with an archfey.'

Okay, that wasn't my best move. Nor would I really know the signs of an archfey back then. Now, I have a pretty good idea of what to look for.

I guess that means it's now that Marissa chick's turn. Her and that large dinosaur. Just smashing things all about for some reason. Wait. Is that snow? It's the end of July of all times. It's not supposed to be doing that.

"I guess that would be them." Sachiko whispered and let her attention turn to her wife. Both look quite flustered. Personally, I believe in both of you. Whoever the hell these people are, they are no match for you two! "Thanks for the confidence. We'll try to give everyone a good show."

Chaos mimed a chuckle and dug into her dress. I hope she's grabbing something. Would be kind of awful if that's not the case. Out comes what looks to be a strange ovaloid device. Purple with white acting as the accent color. A D3. Yeah. That's how one says it, right? Hopefully. How exactly is an old toy going to help us here.

Nearly everyone chuckled in response to that. I'm still confused though. I guess this is alright of a state to be in?

'I'm ready, Sachiko.' Chaos signed and pulled her greatsword off her back. Recently sharpened to boot.

"Override code 10573301, transfer siphon to me directly." Sachiko announced.

Override code accepted. Have a nice day.

"Initiate overdrive."

A cocoon of light wrapped around Chaos, lifting her up into the air.

**Chaos overdrive into… Chaosana!**

_Initiating Scan…_

_Analyzing…_

**Chaosana**

**Divine (Deity), CR ?**

**Special Abilities: White Magic**

**.**

**Sachiko: This feels so weird, like I'm on pins and needles.**

**Freya: Wait. You're using yourself in place of some other source?**

**Sachiko: Yeah. I was expecting to feel far worse than does.**

_Scan Complete._

_Closing Analyzer._

Taking her in, she is as beautiful as ever. It's really hard to describe a woman of such a caliber as her. While clearly an archfey judging by the butterfly-like fey wings, this one had chosen to go with her regular clothing. A far cry from the look she had gone with the last time

Sachiko casually got on. Which came right as a portal appeared in the sky.

"This isn't Jestery's fault!" Jestery announced, making her appearance right after. Not sure why we would be blaming this on you, but okay.

A figure floated down from the portal. Their skin was a shade of glacial blue, with a pair of white eyes staring back. Snow white hair has been tied back into a ponytail, making the fey wings on her back all the more noticeable. A dress made from snow of all materials hangs to their body. I don't even want to know how that even works. Finishing off this archfey's look is a butterfly choker and a set of plain boots.

"Hello?" the archfey greets and lands on the now snow-covered ground. While it's only an inch or two of the white stuff, you might want to keep it to that. Anything more and it's absolute hell to walk in. Especially with heels.

The archfey looked towards the ground and then up towards the sky. Holding a hand up, they give a snap. The snow snaps, but the portal doesn't for some reason. I guess she's not coming alone? Okay, I guess that would make sense here.

"Wait for me, Sivella!" a voice called out, as what looked to be a succubus tumbled out of the portal. Thankfully, she managed to correct herself and land right beside the archfey. Compared to her companion, she was a bit more of a pale cream color with a set of blue eyes staring out upon all of them. Locks of bubblegum pink hair has been cut short, making the dark blue sari that adorns her body stand all the more out. Batlike wings hang from the back, taking on a bit of a fey-like appearance towards the bottom. A heart-tipped tail hung out just above the hips, while a pair of dark blue gladiator sandals hung to her feet. The crown jewel of this ensemble appeared to be a necklace with a pair of pendants. The one on the left was a large snowflake, while the right was a heart. Aww…

"I'm going to guess you wish to fight us?" the succubus explained, getting handed a bow of all things by their archfey companion. On first glance, the whole thing looked like someone had found a belt and attached a bowstring to it. But a closer inspection revealed what looked to be ornamentations of sorts. A pair of silver butterflies serve as clasps, holding the bowstring onto the bow itself. Little heart-shaped marks have been carved in as well, with a heart-tipped arrow already in to boot. Quite a relationship these two have. I can't think of anything you've done for Chaos in that magnitude.

'She beat me out of my bad form.' Chaos signed, letting her focus turn to the archfey. 'One round, no healing?'

Sivella looked over to Chaos. While I have no real way to know her language skills, her look of confusion suggests that sign language is not a form of language that's spoken wherever they are from. Which feels kind of odd when you think about it. In worlds where people are routinely dealt major injuries would develop a system that allows them to communicate without spoken words. Or would they just use telepathy in that regard? Heck, even telling people stuff by way of pieces of paper would be just as effective in some situations. But I'm just a wannabe furry who works as both a waitress and secretary.

"Well, I'm a dancer priestess thing." the succubus remarked and let out a sigh. "Also, deity. But you can just call me Crimson."

Victoria's gaze swiveled on over, with the black cat making a beeline towards the pair. Kuro Neko followed right behind. Mostly so that her wife wouldn't do something incredibly stupid.

"On behalf of the Branakan government, we are very sorry for what happened." the black cat explained and watched Crimson take a deep breath.  
"It's alright." the dancer muttered and stared up towards the sky. The portal had disappeared, possibly just in case of anyone dumb enough to pass through. We have enough problems without opening up old wounds. "Uh… sure?"

After, Sachiko took a deep breath and let her focus be on the large group of people - their teammates. While tempting as it would be to just let them all in

"Basically, we just want to have a friendly sparring match. No healing, of course." the geomancer explained and held her hand out.

.

**Fifth Intermission Start!**

I shift my position slightly in my chair.

As much as I like to be with the rest of my friends, I have a job to do. This was what they asked me to do and it would be absolutely rude of me to just leave.

"We're back!"

Oh for fuck sake. Don't you know that it's rude to barge in when someone has explicitly told you not to do that?

"Maybe?" Daisy remarked, letting her focus be on that of the laptop at the moment. "It's almost the end? Want some popcorn?"

I just look away. I'm not really hungry at the moment. Better question is, why are you suddenly being so nice? You were trying to get in earlier. If anything, this is a pretty obvious trap in the hopes of getting my spot

Daisy looked away, only for her Aqua to grab hold of her. Thank you, by the way. Now, onto what is hopefully the last part of this.

**Fifth Intermission end!**

.

This is it. The final showdown of this series. Well, mainline at least. Or something like that.

"Are the fighters ready?" Talia called out, watching both archfey shift their position in the air. After, they nodded. "Fight!"

**Thunder!**

It would seem that Crimson was the one to make the first move in the form of a bolt of lightning. Not the strongest form this magic can take, what was her goal of doing that? Nonetheless, the bolt homes in on Chaos's greatsword. Yet the white mage lets it happens. She does make sure to give Sachiko a little space. Don't want to electrocute your significant other. Ai did that by accident once to Cho. She spent the rest of the day in her big charging station. It was kind of cute to see. Even if Cho did have a point. A sudden discharge is not something you want in a place filled with wonderful stuffed animals. Right. The battle.

**Aero!**

In response to that, Chaos let forth a tornado in the flight path of their opponents. On paper, this looks like a horrible idea. In practice, the appearance of such a weather system was enough of a distraction to Crimson and Sivella to separate them out. Not that either needed to rely on the other for their flight capabilities.

So Sivella charged forward, pulling up what looked to be a mix of snow and dirt. While not life-threatening, it did force quite a number of people down on the ground to take a couple steps back. Just in case they too were flung up into the air. Or they're just afraid of the narrator having to describe their undergarments. Both of which are equally valid responses here.

"Uh… Sorry about this." Sivella announced as the ball of snow and dirt shot forth. So Sachiko gave it a poke with her naginata. That's one way to do it. Though, you might have wanted to knock it back to solid earth.

"Oh well." Sachiko remarked and jumped away from her wife. Her spear now pointed downwards, she braced for impact.

**Terra!**

Or not, with our geomancer choosing instead to bring forth a slanted pillar of earth to launch her back up into the air as Chaos's Aero spell ended. While it did the job of a 'distraction' expertly, it might have not been as big of a monkey wrench for their opponents as the caster hoped it would be.

"Take this!"

The geomancer slammed her spear into Crimson. The dancer countered with the firing of an arrow, only for the projectile to miss. At point blank. I'm almost impressed with that level of accuracy. Is this is a common problem for you?

"Maybe?" Crimson muttered and used her wings to knock her opponent back. After, she closed her eyes and let herself go into freefall. "May my bonds be my strength, for no matter what a part of all of us will be together."

With that, she pulled the string of her bow back and fired. But instead of an arrow shooting out, both Chaos and Sachiko found themselves facing down what looked to be an energy construct of a fey. Armed with what looked to be a rapier, their focus was more on Chaos than Sachiko. So the white mage let her greatsword fall to the side and waited a few seconds. Then she swung the heavy weapon forward. The greatsword met the fey's rapier, locking blades with it to the best of both fighter's abilities. Blow for blow the pair went, neither quite getting the edge. But that was more the result of one of them having to also carry a passenger on their back. A passenger that was now an easy target for others.

**Stone Throw!**

Pointing her naginata at the ground once more, Sachiko pulled a mix of dirt and snow up into a ball. Unlike Sivella though, she pressed her ball together until it looked more gray than a weird mix of brown and white. A bit of applied heat later, we have ourselves a rock. Not a real pretty, but bound to be solid enough for the act of throwing at winged creatures. Uh… sorry about this?

Both Crimson and Sivella shrug.

"None taken." Sivella answered as she tried to pull up her snow mix from earlier. This time, it was in the form of a smokescreen. Except she threw it right on the trio instead of a couple feet before them. So now, we have almost all the combatants in the middle of smokescreen without any way to really see anything. "Sorry about that. I'm not used to really do this whole combat thing."

Chaos just nodded and knocked the archfey back with her the flat side of her greatsword. Then she pulled the blade back, stabbing it right through the fey construct. Then it was back over to their Crimson.

"Please don't hate me for this, Sivella." she whispers, just catching the reluctant nod from her partner. Then she begins messing with the top of her sari. "Would you like a look~"

You can't be serious. There's no wa-

Pink mist flooded the area, thickening up and making visibility almost impossible. Just barely, I can make out lilies. Maybe a bit of white roses. It dispelled the screen of snow and dirt. Crap.

'Ugh…' Chaos muttered, trying her best to ignore the free show they had been given. But try as she might, something was calling her over.

"No you don't." Sachiko muttered and threw her naginata up into the air. A clap followed. Then the catch of the spear. "Better?"

Chaos gave a nod and took a deep breath. At this point, the best option right now was to just finish this. Especially before one of their opponents pulled one of their own finishers out.

'Permission?' she whispered and got a nod from her wife. Sheathing her greatsword, she closed her eyes and held both her hands out. 'Oh great lights, I ask of you to lend me your strength and cleanse those that I call my enemies. Holy!'

A bright beam of light of light shot down, heading right towards Crimson and Sivella. The couple accepted it, with the dancer finding herself in the archfey's arms. Wait. What is she doing? Oh. They're that kind of couple. May wedding bells ring for you in happiness.

"It only took us a decade to get here." Crimson joked, the couple's attention turning to the beam of light heading right for them. "Thanks for the fight. We had fun."

Chaos flashed a thumbs up and landed. Back on solid ground, Sachiko jumped off. Then a kiss of their own as their opponents make their land. A perfect ending to this complicated, surprising, emotional loving mess that is this series.

Oh wait. We still need to kill someone.

"Jestery can solve that!" Jestery announced and pulled her hat off. She began to dig through it, throwing out what looked to be a mace. Light one, to be exact. Not sure why she would have one of those. "Jestery picked it up as a prop for a show that needed. Nothing to do with any mess caused by you-know-who."

Next out was a black cat plushie. Not sure we needed that, but thanks for recognition and willingness to continue a running gag. Well, that's what is noted down here. Anything else that could possibly help us?

"Let's see…"  
Jestery dug into her bag once more, pulling out a body of all people. Dressed much the same way as Diana except in green, they appear to be…

I have to check my notes.

"It's alright." Sachiko remarked as Varia pulled out a dagger. She threw it in the direction of the body. A direct hit. Your aim is quite good.

"Why thank you." Varia muttered as Freya found herself teleported in. sorry about that. You all did well.

"Thank you?" Freya remarked and took a deep breath. After, she made a beeline towards her significant others.

You're welcome.

'You little…' Chaos signed and looked up towards the sky. Yep, it's me. I guess I couldn't stay out. But this is truly the end. 'Will we get to see you again?'

Of course, silly. Just because you guys aren't the main focus doesn't mean that you won't see me around or something like that.

"Author could've just came in person." Jestery muttered, munching on down some popcorn. So I appeared. "Jestery was joking."

The author just chuckled and took a step back. That way he could be seen by everyone. Even Church-kun. Even if it did look like the usual outfit had been chosen for this occasion - a shirt and shorts combo. At least the shirt had a blackgatomon on it. So, he was onbrand at least. Which was a plus.

"Wait. If you're not the one narrating. Who is?" Talia added and got a shrug from their creator. "You do realize that isn't much of an answer?"

A nod. Not that one really needed to see that at the moment. I'm fairly certain that most of them could tell that this was an entirely different narrator. A new one in fact. I only spent four years in lore college just getting my degree. As first jobs go, this isn't that bad. Though, this is also my first day. Kinda.

"Welcome aboard?" Freya remarked as a portal appeared behind the author. I guess this is it for all of you. Have fun and make the most of you

* * *

Of course, that leaves the question of what's to come. Well, that's something that can be easily answered.

"Polias, we have arrived at our target airspace."

A man looks up from his chair. It's been quite a journey to get to this point. To just get everything ready to rebuild once more. But first, the destruction of must come down upon all. That was the natural order of things. Distant Harmony was just the sort of push on both ends of the spectrum. As long as nothing goes wrong, this should be a cinch.

"Get the first team ready." he barks, a smile forming on his face. "We'll get them this time."

.

A fighter practices their dance moves. A mix of ballet and scarf movements, they aspire for their dream of the day that the monks that travel from town to town to ask him to join them. Quite a lofty dream, but I'm at least rooting for them to succeed. Just don't him that I said that. It's kind of an embarrassing secret of mine

A red snake thing is coiled by their leg. They're muttering something, only for their eyes to shoot open. Eyeshadow on full display, they slink their way up the fighter's body. Their partner comes to a stop and focuses on them.

"It would be a good idea to head out~" the snake coos as the fighter heads for the door. Pushing it open, the duo head on out.

.

Across town, a barbarian patrols the alleyways. Clad in heavy armor, she's a welcoming sight to the succubi and their beloveds who call this place home. They are followed by a ghostly monkey. They hang onto her left shoulder, little bat wings flapping in the nonexistent wind. If they were solid, the heart on their tail would be constantly hitting the back of the berserker's armor.

"Come on. Marulyn totally had her eyes on you." the spirit remarked, following it up with a chuckle. "You should give her a shot. Maybe some flowers?"

The barbarian rolls her eyes, not that such gestures translate through something like a helmet. While the 'monkey' had a point, they had other issues at the moment. Issues that are solved with a blow of a warhammer and maybe some ghost monkey shenanigans.

.

A red dragon hatchling rouses from their slumber.

"Action?" it whispers, cradling the almost patchwork rabbit on the ground. The rabbit just nods. While unsure of the exact location of the dragon's parents, it falls to them to raise this strange creature and help them in their clerical duties. How they managed to choose the one hidden shrine dedicated to a solidarity deity and get chosen out of any other person was a mystery. Maybe the next time they commune with this 'being', they could ask that.

"We are needed young master. If we're lucky, we might find additional playmates of some kind." the rabbit explains, taking the time to climb onto their master's back. It's not the most comfortable of positions to sit, but it would work.

"Yay!" the hatchling announces and carefully makes their way out from their sewer hideout. If they were quick, they should be about

.

A dwarven artificer readies her equipment.

In between her grappling hook and lockpicks, she had much to pack in so little time. In this little back room of an inn, the magic happens. Well, that was what the feline-looking labrador would joke.

"Dang." her companion remarks. "You're really cutting this one close."

The dwarf looks away, taking the time to roll her eyes and get back into her getup. While trenchcoats work 'wonderfully' for most races, one could see how silly this looked on a dwarf. Especially when said garment is clearly not sized for her in the first place. That's what tailors are for.

Not that she seems to care in that moment. Right now, her focus was on getting their box of junk ready for the coming encounter. Especially if there was little to stock up on. So she jammed as much metal scrap as she could hold, smashing the top of the

"Good to go." the artificer whispers and heads for the door.

.

A halfling rogue shifts their dress slightly.

Part of them hates living in their mother's shadow, continuing the legend of who she was. Maybe it's proof of her skill as a teacher, managing to turn her own son into an entirely different person - a mini version of her for lack of a better word. In between the garments, the makeup, the mannerisms and other little things that made up this 'mask', some part of them wanted to know how deep it actually went. At what point did the line that was them end and she begin? Or was this lie so ingrained that they had long passed over that threshold and were now just digging a hole that they would never be able to get out of.

But within all of that, there still was room to put their own spin on it. To change the parts that would be too hard to accomplish for someone who didn't quite fit their mother's shape. But that was the way of life sometimes.

A mousey-looking mole pokes their head out from their hiding spot. They scurry over to their partner, giving them a slight tap.

"We're being summoned." the mole explains and climbs up onto the rogue. An exit of sorts followed right after, heels clicking against the cobblestones with each step.

.

Our heroes now mostly assembled, they wait patiently. Of course one of them just had to be late. It was almost expected at this point.

"Where did she go now?" the fighter muttered, his partner scouring the area for any sign of their missing friend. While they were used to this behaviour, sometimes it just got ridiculous. "Come on out, we know you're around here somewhere."

The rogue just shrugged, closing their eyes for a brief moment. They 'gaze' around for a brief moment, just in case.

"Nothing." they remark, taking the time to pet the red dragon's head. In return, they get a bit of cuddling. Even if they don't want such treatment right now. "Please be more careful."

Like a small child, the dragon gives a nod. It sort of understands the phrase it's been told, but that doesn't explain why the princess is always so rude to them.

As for the artificer and barbarian, they were in the middle of getting set up. Which took the form of communing with spirits for the latter, while the former got a golem up and running.

Almost on cue, a drow in a kimono made her entrance. An aura of light surrounded, illuminating the area around her somewhat. Which made it quite odd that the creature following them looked to be a moth crossed with a lantern on top of the sickle being casually held in the drow's hand.

"Here I am." she remarked, letting out a groan after the fact. After, she took her respective place in the group. A title card is in order. How about something like this?

**Digital Dungeons**

**Coming August 1, 2019**

* * *

Notes:

Believe it or not, this is the longest oneshot I've ever written. Fitting that it's the capstone to five years of writing.

_*Takes deep breath.*_

A big thanks to everyone who have helped me along this long writing journey - A03, FFnet and Discord. Whether you reviewed one of the mainline fics, submitted an OC for Project Digital, Digital Adventures Online or helped in some other way. Even those who I've gotten on the bad side of. I'm not mad at any of you anymore (mostly).

Thank you.

Your support (in one way or another) has meant a lot. To five more years of writing! Scratch that. To five more years of adventures. Yeah. Has a far better ring to it.


End file.
